Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson
by HeroGuardian
Summary: A Flame Haze appears in Misaki City, an old enemy becomes an unlikely ally, and powerful new enemies appear as the Bal Masque prepares to unveil their newest plot. And the question remains… What is the Crimson?
1. A New Challenge

What's up? Anyway this is my first fanfic so I know it might be a bit shaky in the beginning but I'm pretty sure it will become better with experience. Shakugan no Shana is an awesome anime and one of my favorites so I knew I had to write a story for it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, however I do own this story.**

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This world… unbeknownst to many people contains two halves. On one side there is the world we humans live in. On the other half is a world that can't be reached on foot… the Crimson World. The Crimson World has denizens that cross over into our world for a purpose. These denizens lack a major tool one that can only come from humans… Power of Existence! However, by taking away Power of Existence the humans would immediately become nonexistent, and as the existence constantly continue to be taken away the world would eventually be distorted.

Guardians of the Crimson Lords… Weapons of the Crimson Lords… humans that wanted retribution against the Crimson Denizens and gained powers by giving their entire existences to being the containers of crimson lords, Flame Hazes!

Although the Flame Hazes rose to do battle with these denizens, the denizens will always be an opposition against them. The Flame Hazes repaired the damages by the Denizens by making torches, to slow down the rate of distortion. And myself, a torch that at first thought I would lose my existence after a while learned of the treasure within me… Reiji Maigo, a treasure with the ability to replenish my power of existence at midnight.

My path crossed with a Flame Haze with flaming-hair and blazing-eyes. The Flame Haze that I named Shana. Together we've managed to stop a number of denizens we've crossed paths with but today...

_**Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson**_

_**Chapter 1: A New Challenge**_

Yuji and Shana walked outside of Yuji's house and headed for their usual training spot.

"You know we haven't had to battle for a while, it kind of makes me uneasy." Yuji said.

"You make a good point." Alastor's voice came from Shana's pendant. "There haven't been any attacks against us from any of the Crimson Lords that make up the Bal Masque. It's possible that they're using this time to carefully strategize their plan."

"Makes sense since their last plan didn't work out." said Yuji.

"We'll need to keep on our guard, they could strike at anytime." Alastor replied. They both nodded.

"So do you have an idea what Bal Masque could be planning?" asked Yuji

"We're not so sure about that yet, however it seems that their plans always seem to revolve around the Reiji Maigo so we already know there's a high possibility that they'll be coming after you." said Alastor.

"So I'll be their target…" thought Yuji.

Shana looked over at Yuji. "Are you worried about them coming after you?" she asked him.

"No, after all when that time comes we'll battle them together right?" he said

"Uh…yeah!" said Shana turning away with a blush on her face.

They arrived at their training spot near the lake. Shana set up a Fuzetsu and they had a sparring session with wooden poles.

Shana started with a diagonal strike, Yuji parried her strike and tried to counter but Shana was too quick and kicked him in his stomach causing him to fall on the ground. Shana swung down at him and Yuji blocked with his pole. He pushed forward causing her to jump back and charged in with a horizontal slash but Shana moved quickly and managed to knock the pole out of his hands. She released the Fuzetsu. "You're improving on your swordsmanship, at the moment it seems that you may have some difficulty facing a close ranged opponent so we'll be working on that next time." she said.

A seal appeared on the ground and the surroundings once again became crimson. Yuji looked at Shana confused. "Why did you use Fuzetsu again?" he asked.

Shana transformed and materialized her night coat. She pulled out her sword ready to fight. "We're not alone." she said looking over at Yuji.

"The Flaming-Haired Blazing Eyed Hunter…" a voice said.

"Who said that?" asked Shana

A kid that looked to be about sixteen years old appeared in front of them. He had black hair and was wearing all black. A sword was strapped to his back.

"I finally get to meet the Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter," The boy smiled.

"My name is Shana!" she answered.

"Shana huh, my name's Ichiro and I've come to challenge the Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter. I want to see if you're truly as good as your reputation claims you are."

Yuji reached for his bookmark containing Blutsauger but the boy quickly noticed this and appeared next to Yuji grabbing his arm and preventing him from summoning his sword. "Not quick enough mystes, now don't interfere with my battle, I want a fair battle between me and the contractor for the Flame of Heaven," Ichiro said.

"Yuji! Let go of him!" Shana shouted. _"He's fast I didn't even notice him move."_ She thought.

"I'll let the mystes go as long as he doesn't interfere with our battle." Ichiro said.

"Yuji…it's alright I'll fight him." said Shana.

"Are you sure Shana?" he asked. She noticed the concerned look on Yuji's face and nodded. Ichiro let go of Yuji's arm.

"A wise choice..." Ichiro pulled out a sword with a blade that was completely black. "Are you ready Shana?"

Shana nodded and got into her battle stance. "Before we start there's something I want to know." she said.

Ichiro nodded. "Very well, what do you wish to know?" he asked.

"You're a flame haze, aren't you?" Shana asked him.

"I was trying to suppress my presence. I'm surprised that you were able to detect me." Ichiro smiled. Crimson red flames circled around his body.

"Your container picks up on things quickly Alastor." A woman's voice said from Ichiro's headband.

"Alastor do you know them?" Shana asked him.

"I know the Crimson Lord, the Empress of Battle, Seraphyne. However, I did not know that she had made a contract with someone." answered Alastor.

"Now's not the time for talking, we came to fight." Seraphyne answered sternly.

"That's right so prepare yourself Shana!" Ichiro told her.

Both of them charged towards each other, swinging their swords simultaneously.

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And that's my first chapter with a cliffhanger! Please Read and Review!


	2. Flames of Battle

Thanks for the review **JohnPeacekeeper!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, however I do own this story.

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_**Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson**_

_**Chapter 2: Flames of Battle**_

Both of their swords clashed together. They pushed against each other trying to gain dominance. Ichiro managed to push her away and attacked with a vertical slash. Shana quickly sidestepped and attacked with a direct stab, and Ichiro jumped out of the way.

Shana charged towards him and attacked with a few diagonal slashes, Ichiro managed to dodge her slashes and grabbed her arm she was holding her sword with. Ichiro drove his sword into the ground and kicked her straight into Yuji. Yuji caught the flame haze in his arms, looking down at her concerned.

"Shana, are you alright?" asked Yuji.

Shana stood up gripping her sword tightly.

"If this is truly your best then I'm wasting my time," Ichiro told her.

"I honestly thought from what I heard your Flame Haze would be able to give us a challenge Alastor. If this is how you handle a battle, I can't say much for the future of your flame haze..." Seraphyne added with a disappointed tone.

"This isn't over yet…" Shana said as flames started swirling around her blade.

Shana swung her sword down, sending the flames towards Ichiro. Ichiro grabbed his sword from the ground and jumped out of the way of Shana's attack. Shana charged in and hit him in the chest with her elbow then swung her sword at him but Ichiro quickly raised his sword to defend her strike. Flames swirled around Shana's blade as she pushed him away and struck him with her sword.

Ichiro backed away as he said "Not bad, you're starting to take this seriously, however…" Flames started swirling around Ichiro's sword. "You're not the only one that can manipulate flame."

Ichiro lifted his sword in the air and started twirling it. Shana looked confused as she asked "Is he trying to show off?" "No it looks like he's preparing an attack." replied Alastor.

"Then now's my chance to strike, before he gets to finish." Shana said as she ran towards him ready to strike with her sword.

"You're too late, SkyFire!" Ichiro said as a plume of fire came down from the sky headed straight for Shana. Shana jumped through the fire and kicked Ichiro in his chest. Ichiro regained his footing and jumped away from her.

"What was that attack?" asked Yuji

"It's an unrestricted method called SkyFire. It's not a very powerful move but it has its advantages." Alastor replied

Ichiro pointed his sword at Shana and said "Alright time to finish this!" Shana raised her sword and both swords ignited with flames at the same time. They both charged in ready to swing at each other, and then they both jumped away from the area as a barrage of blue energy beams fell where they were standing. They both landed near Yuji and looked up to see a small pale girl with a white hat and cape, wielding a staff, as well as a man with bat wings and a long tail.

"Turbulent Ungula, Fecor." said Alastor.

"Supreme Throne, Hecate!" said Shana.

"Great they interrupted our battle, we'll call our match a draw alright?" asked Ichiro. Shana nodded as Yuji pulled out his Blutsauger.

"I'll take on the Supreme Throne and leave the other guy to you two, be careful." said Ichiro. He flew up to where Hecate was and swung his sword down at her, but Hecate manages to hold her ground on all of his strikes by blocking them with her staff.

Meanwhile, Shana tries to fly up to attack Fecor, but huge cubes start raining down on her. Shana quickly evades the cubes and lands on the roof next to Yuji.

"Be careful remember that he uses the Unrestricted Method Magnesia. That method mainly used as a defense can also be a powerful offense, we'll have to be cautious of how we approach him." said Alastor

"I may have an idea of how to get past that defense." said Yuji.

"What are you thinking of?" asked Shana

Hecate raised her staff. "Aster!" she said. Ichiro flew around her attack and clashed with her staff again. Both of them held their ground, trying to overpower the other. Ichiro looked at her face, for a moment he could see sadness in her blue eyes.

"Priestess answer me, do you really want to fight us?" asked Ichiro

For a second Hecate's face looked surprised, but quickly changed back to her neutral expression and pushed him away. She fired a huge beam at him. Ichiro countered with SkyFire, and the plume of fire fell from the sky and intercepted Hecate's attack.

Ichiro flew back up to where she was and said "You didn't answer my question."

"Okay, got the plan Shana?" asked Yuji

Shana re-summoned her wings as she said "Make sure to wait for your opening."

Yuji nodded as Shana flew in the air towards Hecate. Fecor noticed her attack and sent his Magnesia cubes towards Hecate to guard her from Shana's attack. His Magnesia cubes managed to trap Ichiro and Hecate in the middle of it as they stopped their battle for a second and noticed their surroundings.

While Fecor sent the Magnesia cubes to guard Hecate only a few cubes were guarding around him. Yuji conjured up a silver ball of flame and took careful aim. When he saw his opening he fired the silver ball of flame successfully striking Fecor. Shana flew down and slashed Fecor with her sword causing him to have to catch himself from falling by flying up.

Back in the middle of the Magnesia cubes, Ichiro clashes with Hecate's staff and both withdraw after failing to overpower the other.

_"It's like I can feel her emotions whenever our weapons clash..." _Ichiro thought.

"I can tell… you're not like the others are." Ichiro told her.

Hecate's eyes wavered as a blue glow surrounded her.

"Is that an unrestricted method?" Ichiro asked.

"Yeah, it's an unrestricted method allows her to teleport!" Seraphyne replied.

Ichiro quickly flew towards her and grabbed on to her arm. She looked at him, looking surprised as they both disappeared.

"Great Priestess." Fecor said looking up where she was.

"What happened to them?" Yuji asked.

"The Supreme Throne teleported, Ichiro must have grabbed on to her so he will end up wherever she teleports to." Shana replied.

"This is an unusual turn of events. Looks like I'll have to retreat for now." Fecor said. The winged denizen vanished in a swirl of his Magnesia cubes.

"I thought I sensed something around here" they heard from above. They both looked up to see a blond-haired woman riding a book hovering over them.

"Margery-san!" Yuji called out.

"I felt that there was a Flame Haze, as well as two Crimson Lords here." Margery said as she landed on the ground.

"We would have been here earlier but you know my bottomless booze princess Margery Daw." Marcosias explained.

"Shut up stupid Marco!" Margery slammed her fist into the grimoire. "So where did everybody go?" the blonde flame haze asked them.

"There was another Flame Haze here, but he teleported along with the Supreme Throne." Shana replied.

"Their appearance does bring up the question of what they were up to."

"We can't determine the reason they decided to come after us because they weren't specifically targeting one of us," Yuji said.

"What about the flame haze? Were you able to get any information on them?" Margery asked them.

"He said his name was Ichiro, and the Crimson Lord he's made a contract with is the Empress of Battle, Seraphyne." Alastor told them.

"Empress of Battle, it's been a while since I've heard that name! I never knew that she made a contract with someone," Marcosias sounded surprised.

"Indeed, we're not certain what their plans are at the moment. However, they would be powerful allies if they were to join us," Alastor replied.

_**Meanwhile…**_

Ichiro was laying on the ground in an unknown location.

"Ichiro… Ichiro wake up!" shouted Seraphyne.

"Seraphyne, where are we?" Ichiro asked her.

"Take a look for yourself," she replied.

Ichiro sat up and opened his eyes. As his eyes adjusted he could make out someone standing in the distance.

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Well that covers Chapter 2. Thanks for reading and please review. Until next time!

Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson


	3. Change of Heart

It's been a while but here's Chapter 3.

Thank you** JohnPeacekeeper** for the review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, however I do own this story.

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_**Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson**_

_**Chapter 3: Change of Heart**_

Ichiro sat up and gave his eyes time to adjust as he took in his surroundings. He was on top of a mountain, somewhere far away from Misaki City. There were a number of mountains off in the distance and the sky seemed to stretch for miles. He looked over at the edge of a cliff and saw the blue haired priestess he battled earlier. She seemed to be lost in thought as she gazed off into the distance.

"I see that you're finally awake!" Seraphyne quietly said.

"Yeah, so did anything go on while I was out?" Ichiro asked her.

"Not really… she's been standing there for a while now."

"Well if she didn't kill me while I was out I guess I can trust her, for now at least."

"What made you decide to grab on to her? Normally you're not the reckless type." Seraphyne said in a serious tone.

"I have my reasons…" he said as he stood up. He walked over to Hecate and stood next to her.

"Hecate…" he started. She turned to look at him with a blank expression on her face. "Why are we on a mountain?" he asked.

"…I like it up here." she answered in her usual monotone voice. "This place… it's a place I can come to whenever I need to think."

"Why did you try to run from our battle?" Seraphyne asked her.

"I did not run…" she quickly replied using the same monotone voice.

"You said that you came up here to think, are you thinking about what I was asking you before?" Ichiro asked her.

Hecate nodded her head.

"_Now I see, she's confused, torn between staying with the Bal Masque and leaving them behind…" _Ichiro thought._ "Honestly I thought that all Crimson Lords that weren't assigned to Flame Hazes were like him…She almost reminds me of…never mind."_

"Hecate… you must make a decision right now."

"Why does this concern you?" the blue haired girl asked.

"I can see it in your eyes, someone that wants to know the meaning of their existence, and someone that desires to be free to find their own path to walk."

"As far back as I can remember I have always been empty, I haven't been able to find my unique self. The day that I synchronized with the Reiji Maigo I thought I have truly obtained memories of my own, but all I obtained was an empty promise, and so I remained an empty, emotionless shell of existence."

"You don't seem as emotionless as you think…" She looked up at him surprised as he continued. "You've shown sadness and a desire to be free, to show those emotions makes you human."

"The emotions I've shown, were emotions that I took away from my faux vessel, will they disappear like the last time? Will I return to the way I was before?"

"There's a way I know they won't disappear…"

"How?" she asked looking interested.

"The only way you can would be to leave Bal Masque and make memories of your own. You're stronger than you think and you can accomplish a lot without them… however this isn't my decision to make… it's your decision Hecate."

Hecate looked down as she thought _"What do I want?"_ She looked up at Ichiro with a serious expression on her face. "I want…" she started.

"Ichiro!" Seraphyne interrupted.

"I know. I sense a Crimson Lord nearby." Ichiro replied.

"What are you going to do?" Seraphyne asked him.

"I won't have to do anything... They're headed right for us."

"FLAME HAZE!" they heard above them.

They looked up to see a tall, well-built man wearing a pair of sunglasses and a dark colored suit.

"Ichiro, that's one of the Trinity of the Bal Masque. Thousand Change, Sydonay." Seraphyne informed him.

"Stay away from my Hecate, Flame Haze!" Sydonay shouted.

"Your Hecate? I'm sorry but she doesn't belong to you! I assume you've come to force her to go back with you."

"I don't have to force her. She knows where she belongs. Now come Hecate, we're leaving..."

"If you intend to take her away you'll have to kill me first." Ichiro pulled a sword out from his nightcape.

"That's fine, I was already planning on it." Sydonay transformed into a chimera.

Ichiro flew up towards Sydonay and swung his sword at him diagonally. Sydonay dodged and swiped his claws. Ichiro moved back from his swipe and raised his sword to defend Sydonay next strike. Ichiro looked for an opening and used his feet to kick him away and slashed his chest. Sydonay immediately thrust his claws into Ichiro's torso causing him to wince in pain. Ichiro backed away and held where he got hit.

"Ichiro, are you okay?" Seraphyne asked him.

"Yeah I was caught off-guard, it wont happen again." Ichiro replied.

Sydonay flew towards him brandishing his claws. Ichiro twirled his sword in the air and pointed it at Sydonay calling upon his unrestricted method. "SkyFire!" A plume of fire headed for Sydonay. Sydonay fired a green blast from his mouth and both attacks canceled each other out.

"I won't let you corrupt my Hecate, Flame Haze!"

"That's hilarious especially the fact that it's coming from you. I'm not corrupting her at all." Ichiro told him.

"LIAR!" shouted Sydonay as he charged another green blast in his mouth and fired. Ichiro raised his sword to defend the incoming attack and winced at the wound he received earlier. The blast hit him directly and he fell straight for the ground.

Sydonay transformed back to his normal appearance and started to fly towards Hecate. "Alright Hecate, it's time to head back now…" He was interrupted by a tornado of fire appearing in front of him. When the fire started to vanish, Ichiro appeared in the middle of it sword pointed at Sydonay.

"Impossible, how did you recover so quickly?"

"Your attack was impressive, but I managed to move to the side at the last second..." Ichiro explained before he paused to hold his wound from earlier. He felt the blood flowing out through his fingers. _"This isn't good! There's no way I can defeat him like this..."_

"That may be so, but I've already managed to damage you significantly. It won't take that much more to finish you," Sydonay told him.

_"Damn it! What do I do now? Is escape the only option I have left?"_ Ichiro thought.

"What will you do now, Flame Haze? Not only are you outmatched, but you're outnumbered as well," Sydonay added, interrupting his thoughts.

Ichiro turned to see the blue-haired priestess floating in the air and pointing her staff at him. He looked between the two of them, gripping his sword tighter.

"It seems that she has made her decision..." Seraphyne informed him.

"Go on Hecate, finish him off."

Ichiro raised his sword to defend as Hecate raised her staff. Hecate looked at him for a moment before she closed her eyes and casted her unrestricted method. "Aster." A barrage of blue energy beams headed straight for Ichiro.

"_Hecate…"_ Ichiro thought.

Ichiro braced himself as the energy beams closed in. The energy beams immediately twisted around Ichiro when it got close to him and headed towards Sydonay.

"WHAT ARE YOU? NO!" he shouted as the energy beams slammed into him, sending him straight into the ground exploding on impact.

Ichiro looked up at Hecate in surprise as she flew down to where he was.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

"It's alright I'll be fine… thank you Hecate."

"I've made my decision, I want to leave Bal Masque, I don't want to be them anymore but…"

"Yes?" he asked.

Tears started flowing from her eyes. "I don't want to be alone. It hurts to be alone."

Ichiro brought her close and hugged her, as he felt her sob into his chest.

"You don't have to worry about being alone anymore." She looked up at him. "I'll be with you, okay?" She nodded and softly smiled.

"Now then, how about we get out of here?"

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Sydonay watched as Ichiro said something to Hecate and they both teleported away. He struggled to sit up, as he looked up his eyes widened.

"Tsk, Tsk, no this just wont do at all…"

Standing in front of him was a person wearing a dark gray priests garb and a mask was over his face.

"I thought you would have done better than this, although I'm not entirely surprised by the result."

"Why are you here?" Sydonay asked.

"Well I thought it would be obvious enough by now. You were overpowered and killed by that priestess and Flame Haze… or should I say that's how it's gonna look to the rest of Bal Masque."

"What are you talking about? I'm right here, not in the best shape but I am alive." Sydonay looked confused.

"Not quite. I'm just finishing what the Supreme Throne started. You're no longer needed..."

"If that Flame Haze wasn't here I wouldn't have lost!"

"Pathetic excuses to the end... Goodbye Sydonay..." the person said as he raised his hand. A black beam of energy rained from the sky onto Sydonay. He screamed in pain for a second as pain rolled through his body, and a second later Sydonay was no where to be found.

"Well, it's nice to see that I'm not losing my touch. Nothing personal Sydonay, but I need you out of the way for a while..." he said as he let his hand fall down freely and looked up where Ichiro and Hecate were moments ago. "However I'm more surprised to see that kid is still alive. This makes things interesting, I wonder how this will all play out…"

_"But for now…"_ he started to walk away as he added. _"I'll travel to Seireiden..."_

_**3 days later in Misaki City…**_

Sakai Yuji sat up in his bed and thought _"It's been a few days since the encounter with Bal Masque and that Flame Haze."_ He got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. He splashed water on his face as he thought "_The whole situation went by so fast… and something seemed off about them showing up…"_

He felt the presence of a flame haze downstairs and smiled. Shana must have shown up early for training today. He finished getting dressed and headed downstairs, entering the kitchen.

"Morning, sleepy head." his mother greeted as she prepared breakfast.

"Morning…" he replied back.

"Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes, oh and you have a visitor."

"A visitor?" he asked.

"Yes, he said that he knows you from school you should go greet him, he's in the living room."

_"Wait, so that presence isn't Shana..."_ Yuji thought.

Yuji quickly made his way to the living room and walked in immediately, looking surprised when he saw the black haired boy reading a book on his couch wearing casual attire, compared to the all black he wore when he saw him before. The flame haze looked up and smiled.

"It's been a while mystes…"

"It's you, that Flame Haze from before, Ichiro right?" Yuji asked him. Ichiro nodded. "We were wondering what happened to you after you disappeared with Hecate, but since you're here does this mean that you defeated her?"

"Not exactly…" Ichiro replied. Yuji looked confused as Ichiro pointed behind Yuji. Yuji turned around to see a blue-haired girl wearing a white shirt and a light blue skirt standing at the doorway to the living room.

This was no illusion… the "Supreme Throne" Hecate was standing in my living room…

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There's Chapter 3 everyone. Now to clear somethings up, first I chose the scene as a mountain for the majority of this chapter, because I read that in the light novels Hecate had a hobby of climbing up mountains, and in the second chapter Hecate left the battle quickly because she was dealing with the conflict described in this chapter.

Also, please take the time to review it can only help me in the long run. Thanks for reading and until next time!


	4. Enter The Supreme Throne: Hecate!

Alright, I finally got Chapter 4 up, Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana, however I do own this story.

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**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 4: Enter – The Supreme Throne: Hecate!_**

"_What's going on? I didn't notice her at all…"_

"I assume you're wondering why you weren't able to detect her." Ichiro said mirroring Yuji's thoughts. Ichiro pointed at the necklace on Hecate's wrist he immediately recognized it as the necklace that Hecate wore as Fumina Konoe.

"It's an impressive Hougu. It has the ability to mask the presence of a Crimson Lord, making their existences seem no less than human."

"And what about her, why is she here?" Yuji asked as Hecate walked around the living room and stopped to look at a picture on the wall.

"It's a little complicated…" Seraphyne replied.

"You could say that I've taken her into my custody, and as for why we're here it was her suggestion to come to Misaki City." Ichiro said before he stood up and walked over to the window. "Besides myself, there are three other Flame Haze that inhabit this city." He turned as he added. "Before I make any movements I would like to go discuss the situation over with them."

"So what are you planning on doing with her?" Yuji asked him.

"That all depends on what they decide…" Ichiro replied.

Chigusa stepped in the room and smiled. "Yu-chan, would your friends like to join us for breakfast? I made plenty to go around."

Ichiro rubbed the back of his head. "I would love to, thank you ma'am."

"Thank you very much." Hecate added.

After breakfast, they said their goodbyes and stepped out of Yuji house.

"There are two Flame Hazes close by, do you mind showing us where they live?" Ichiro asked him.

"No problem, this way…" Yuji said as he motioned them to follow him. As Ichiro followed Yuji his facial expression looked troubled as he remembered the conversation he had with Seraphyne earlier…

_**Flashback**_

_Ichiro stands on the roof of a house, looking up at the night sky._

"_Ichiro do you really believe this will play out the way you're thinking it will?" Seraphyne asked him._

"_I'll seek counsel with the other Flame Hazes in this city, whatever their decision ends up being shall determine our next step."_

"_Are you forgetting, she an enemy to those Flame Haze, they wont just allow her to join them!"_

"_I realize that…"_

"_I wonder if you truly understand that…"_

"Ichiro…Ichiro." Ichiro looks up to see Yuji and Hecate looking at him. "Is everything alright?" Hecate asked him.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Ichiro replied.

"We're here, they live in that apartment complex." Yuji said pointing it out.

"Alright, let's get this over with." Ichiro said as he followed Yuji up the stairs and outside their door. Yuji knocked on the door and seconds later it was answered by a familiar black haired girl with a smile on her face.

"Morning, Shana." said Yuji.

"Good morning..." Shana started to say, when she noticed the black haired flame haze next to him. "Ichiro, so that presence we felt was you..."

"It seems that you have returned safely from your battle," Alastor added.

"What happened during your battle? Were you able to defeat Hecate?" Shana asked him.

"It's complicated..." Ichiro told her. Shana looked confused until she saw the blue haired girl behind them. Shana's expression quickly changed to anger.

"Fuzetsu!" Shana shouted.

The surroundings turned crimson and Shana's hair changed from black to red. She materilzed her night cape and pulled out her sword before she swung it at Hecate. A metal clang was heard and a surprised expression appeared on Shana's face. Her sword was being blocked by Ichiro's as he protected the blue haired priestess.

"What is she doing here?" she asked.

"I'll explain everything, but I'll need you to withdraw your blade Shana." Ichiro replied.

"What is the meaning of this?" Wilhelmina asked as she walked over noticing the situation.

"Listen, I don't blame you for being cautious of her, but you have to trust me Shana I wouldn't be doing this without reason."

"Will you at least hear her out Alastor?" Seraphyne asked.

"We will withdraw for the moment…" Alastor replied. Shana seemed reluctant to, but she sheathed her blade in her night coat. "We'll talk more inside, enter." Ichiro and Hecate nodded as they entered the apartment with Yuji following behind them.

"Now then, explain yourself."

"Very well then, you remember when I battled against Hecate that day. Well during the battle I noticed that she was deep in thought about something. I took a guess and thought that she didn't want to fight us." said Ichiro.

"And that's when you flew after her and ended up teleporting with her," Yuji commented.

"Reckless move." Tiamat replied.

"Indeed it was reckless." the pink haired flame haze added.

"When I came to, I was on a mountain, and she was still there. I figured that I could trust her since she didn't attack me while I was down so we talked, and that's when I figured out she was having thoughts of leaving Bal Masque."

"Does this mean that she's left Bal Masque?" asked Yuji.

"I don't believe this for a second, I think this is another trap to get closer to Yuji." said Shana. "And I think that you are a fool to believe her! Are you forgetting who she is? One of the trinity of the Bal Masque, Supreme Throne Hecate!"

"She's not one of them anymore!" Ichiro replied.

"And how can you be so sure of that, what if she betrays us!"

"Please stop…" they all turned towards Hecate as she continued. "Don't blame Ichiro… it was my choice to come here."

The door to the apartment opened and a woman with blonde hair as well as a kid about Yuji's age with brown hair entered the room.

"I wasn't going to miss out this time…" she noticed Hecate in the room. "What is the brat from the Bal Masque doing here?" Margery asked them.

"She claims that she's leaving Bal Masque." Alastor replied.

"But it's not a claim… it's my decision." she had a determined expression on her face as she continued. "I want to able to live freely without any restraints. If I stayed as a part of Bal Masque I could never realize that dream. I don't want anything to do with them anymore."

"Well what do you think?" Ichiro asked them.

"I think we should give her a chance." Yuji replied.

"Are you sure about this?" Shana asked him. Yuji nodded. Shana looked over at the blue haired girl with disdain before she turned to Ichiro. "What makes you trust her so much?"

"I was attacked by Sydonay after I teleported with her, he almost got me, but Hecate saved me."

"I had to admit, I didn't trust her from the start, but she did save us so she's earned my trust." Seraphyne added.

"And as a result Sydonay is no longer of this world." Wilhelmina informed them.

"Sydonay's dead!" Margery looked surprised.

"No freakin' way!" Marcosias added.

"That doesn't seem right, where did you get that information from?" Ichiro asked.

"From Outlaw, why does this surprise you?" Shana looked curious.

"We may have taken down Sydonay, but we didn't kill him. He was still alive before we left the area."

"Are you sure about that?" Alastor asked him.

"100 percent sure, if Sydonay died after we left is it possible that there was…"

"Outside interference." Tiamat interrupted.

"Indeed, we'll have to look into this matter." Wilhelmina added.

"Well brat, what is your decision?" Margery asked her.

Shana looked at Hecate. "If you try to hurt Yuji or anyone else…" she started.

"I have no further reason to pursue the Reiji Maigo, therefore I have no reason to harm the mystes," Hecate interrupted.

"If you betray us, I will not hesitate to kill you," Shana told her.

"I understand," Hecate replied.

"Well if the brat's fine with it, I guess I can live with it," Margery said.

"I still don't trust her, but as long as we keep a watch on her things should be alright," Shana explained.

"Thank you Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter." Hecate told her.

"My name's Shana, Hecate."

"Alright then, thank you… Shana." Hecate said with a soft smile.

"Should we continue to call you Hecate?" Yuji asked her.

"Only during battle, as a human I am Fumina Konoe." the blue haired girl replied.

"That reminds me, I forgot to formally introduce myself. I am the Flame Haze under contract of the Empress of Battle, Seraphyne. My name is Ichiro," he told them. Ichiro turned to the blonde-haired woman. "I'm glad to finally meet you, Chanter of Elegies, Margery Daw."

"You already know who I am?" Margery looked surprised. Ichiro nodded and noticed the brown haired boy standing next to her.

"Who are you?" Ichiro asked him.

"I'm Satou Keisaku." Satou replied.

"You're a human, but from the looks of it you're assisting Margery-san." Ichiro observed. A smile appeared on the black haired flame haze's face. "I'm glad to see you helping her out, I hope you will help me as well in the future."

"Sure why not?" Satou replied with a light smile.

Ichiro walked over to the pink haired flame haze. He gently lifted her hand and bowed respectfully.

"You're Manipulator of Ten Thousand Ribbons, Wilhelmina Carmel, am I right?" Ichiro asked her. The pink haired woman nodded. "It's nice to meet you Carmel-san."

"It is nice to meet you as well," Wilhelmina replied, a small smile gracing her features.

"We should probably release the Fuzetsu, since we have no need for it now," Yuji told them.

Shana nodded and the crimson surroundings disappeared.

"Well we're gonna head back now." Ichiro said.

"Where will you guys be staying?" Yuji asked them.

"The house that I previously had still belongs to me so we will be staying there." Hecate replied.

"You know where to find us, so don't hesitate to come over, later." Ichiro told them.

"Goodbye." Hecate added as she and Ichiro left the apartment.

Hecate walked in front of Ichiro as they headed back to her house.

"Well Ichiro, Hecate is now part of our little group and it's thanks to you." Seraphyne said.

"I know but…"

"But what, you're not starting to have regrets are you?" Seraphyne asked him.

"No way, it's about Sydonay's death, I feel like there's a dark shadow looming over us. But no matter what it is, I'll fight against it." Ichiro looked at Hecate walking in front of her as he quietly added "I'll protect her, no matter what…"

* * *

And that's it for this chapter. If you have noticed there's no cliffhanger at the end of this one.

Anyways, thanks for reading and please review. Until next time!


	5. A Day of Training

Sorry for the delay, hopefully this chapter will make up for it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do however own this story.

* * *

_**Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson**_

_**Chapter 5: A Day of Training**_

Light shined on the face of a blue haired girl disturbing her from her sleep. She sat up and yawned before getting out of bed and preparing herself for the day. After taking a shower and dressing in a pink shirt, dark red skirt, and white jacket, she headed downstairs noticing the smell of food on her way to the kitchen. Entering the kitchen, she saw Ichiro place two plates of food on the table. He looked up and smiled.

"Good morning, Konoe-san." Ichiro told her.

"Good morning, Ichiro." she replied back.

"Well don't just stand there, come sit." Ichiro said as he pulled out his chair for her. She sat down and he gently pushed it in for her. "Eat up, we don't know what we'll be in for today." he added as he sat down at his place at the table.

"What are you doing today?" Konoe asked.

"Well I was thinking that I would go for a walk and check out the city." he replied before taking a bite from a piece of toast.

"That sounds like a nice idea, the weather's great outside."

"Did you make any plans yet?" he asked.

"No, I haven't…" she replied.

"Well… would you like to come with me?" he asked.

"Sure, I'd like to." she said a light smile appearing on her face.

"Great, then we'll leave after you finish eating." Ichiro replied as he put his plate in the sink and went upstairs. When he returned, he was wearing a white long sleeved shirt with a black stripe on it and black sweatpants. Konoe had already finished her breakfast and was waiting at the door.

"Alright let's go." Ichiro said as he opened the door and they both walked outside.

They walked around the city, taking in the sights. After walking around for a while they ended up at a park fountain. Ichiro watched as Konoe reached her hand out and a bird flew down and landed in her hand.

"That's awesome… I wish I could do that." Ichiro said as Konoe turned to look at him and giggled. Ichiro looked confused as he said "I wonder what's so funny."

"Well you could say you've got the technique half right." Seraphyne said amused. Ichiro looked up to see that a bird landed on his head.

"Who knew my talents went so far…" Ichiro said with his head down. The bird flew from his head over to Konoe and landed on her head. Ichiro lifted his head up and smiled as he saw Konoe giggling again.

"_That's good it looks like she__'s having fun."_ Ichiro thought.

"It looks like we have some company." Seraphyne informed him. Ichiro turned to see Shana walking over to them.

"Shana, how are you doing?" asked Ichiro.

"I'm fine, thanks." replied Shana.

The birds flew away as Konoe noticed Ichiro talking to Shana. She walked over to them. "Hello, Shana-san." she said.

Shana nodded in response. "Ichiro, I have a favor to ask of you." she said.

"Alright, so what do you need me to do?" asked Ichiro.

"I forgot I have to do something today and it's very important, but I scheduled training with Yuji today. So could you overlook his training today?"

"Why can't the Manipulator of Ten Thousand Ribbons overlook his training?" Ichiro asked her.

"Wilhelmina's busy looking for information from Outlaw and don't ask me about the Chanter of Elegies." Shana replied.

"I wasn't going to. So what exactly do you have to do that would throw away your training time with Yuji?"

"That's none of your business!" Shana replied.

"That's too bad, I guess you're on your own then…"

"So you're not going to train Yuji, because I won't tell you what I'm doing?" Shana asked with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Calm down, it's fine. I'll overlook his training."

"Thank you…"

"However, in exchange you'll take Konoe with you for the day." Ichiro said.

"And why should I do that?" Shana asked with a serious tone.

"I figured that whatever you're doing must be girl related, so it might be nice for Konoe to join you. Will that be alright?"

"Very well, I'll take her with me." Shana said before taking off her pendant. "When you see Yuji, give him this." She added as she placed the pendant in his hand. "Alright let's go." She said motioning Konoe to follow her.

"I guess I'll see you later, have fun." Ichiro said.

"Yeah, I'll see you later." she said before walking away with Shana.

"You're planning something aren't you?" Seraphyne asked him.

"You could say that. I was thinking that it could be a good way for them to start gaining some trust in each other."

"Do you realize that this situation could have an adverse effect to your prior thoughts?" Alastor asked him.

"I know that, but if we ever want the tension between them to end, then it needs to be done…" Ichiro said as he started to walk away.

**Training spot near Misaki bridge…**

Yuji was walking in the field waiting around for Shana. _"She usually gets here around this time. I wonder what's taking her this long… someone's coming."_

Ichiro walked on the sidewalk and saw Yuji standing out in the field. He walked down the hill over to him. "What's up, Yuji." said Ichiro.

"Nothing really, I'm just waiting around for Shana. She seems to be running late."

"She's not running late, she ran into me and asked if I would overlook your training today." Ichiro said before handing him the pendant.

Yuji put the pendant around his neck. "Did she tell you where she was going?" he asked. Ichiro shook his head. "How come Konoe-san isn't with you?" asked Yuji.

"She's hanging out with Shana right now." replied Ichiro. Yuji looked surprised before Ichiro interrupted him. "Never mind that right now it's time to focus on your training." he said as he raised his arm and the surroundings turned crimson.

"Alright, so what are we going to do?" Yuji asked him.

"First we'll be working on something I think you'll pick up pretty easily, but first do you remember when we first met…"

_Flashback_

"_My names Ichiro and I've come to challenge the Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter. I want to see if you're truly as good as your reputation claims you are."_

_Yuji reached for his bookmark containing Blutsauger but Ichiro quickly noticed and grabbed his arm preventing him from releasing his sword. "Not quick enough mystes…"_

"You tried to reach for your sword and a much more skilled enemy can easily take advantage of the situation. It would be a lot easier for you if you could summon your weapon to your side immediately."

"Is that possible?" Yuji asked him.

"Of course, for example think of when Hecate calls on her staff, by using power of existence she's able to immediately summon it to her hand. Allow me to demonstrate…" Ichiro said as he gathered a bit of power of existence to his hand. The power flashed and a second later Ichiro's sword was in his hand. "Your weapon should be your main focus during this. It shouldn't take that much power of existence to do this so try it out."

Yuji focused some power of existence into his hand. A second later Blutsauger was grasped in his hand.

"You picked up on that quickly." Seraphyne told him.

"I noticed when you were focusing your power of existence that your capacity goes way further than any other torch that I've seen," Ichiro said with an interested look on his face.

"Hmm, the capacity that Sakai Yuji has obtained was mainly due to the actions of the Bal Masque. When Supreme Throne – Hecate used her synchronization ability on Yuji they became one being, and since Hecate was empty at that moment the Reiji Maigo started to fill them with a bottomless amount of power," Alastor explained.

"I think I get it, so as a result Yuji's capacity pretty much expanded to that of a Crimson Lords," Ichiro said before a smile appeared on his face. "Then that means I won't have to hold back."

**Meanwhile o****ver at the Sakai household…**

Konoe sat down at the table as she watched as Chigusa tie an apron on Shana. "Alright you're all set Shana-chan, let's start with chopping those vegetables." Chigusa said as she motioned over to the cutting board. Shana nodded as Chigusa walked over to Konoe. "Would you like to try it out Konoe-chan?" asked Chigusa.

"Cooking never really appealed to me, but maybe next time. I wonder though…"

"Yes?" said Chigusa.

"Well Shana-san didn't really seem like the type to care about something like cooking when I met her, I wonder what has suddenly made her want to."

"I'm pretty sure that Shana-chan has her own special reason she wants to do this." Chigusa replied as she watched Shana carefully cut the vegetables.

"_I wonder what that special reason is." _Konoe thought as she looked over at Shana with an interested look on her face.

**Back with Ichiro and Yuji…**

Ichiro charged up fireballs in his hands and threw them towards Yuji. Yuji countered by throwing a silver fireball at Ichiro's fireballs causing the two attacks to explode on impact. When the smoke cleared Ichiro was no where to be found. Yuji looked around left and right trying to see if he could find him.

"Above you…" said Alastor. Yuji looked up to see Ichiro pointing his sword at him. A stream of fire came down from the sky towards Yuji. Yuji jumped back narrowly missing the attack.

"Not bad, Yuji." said Ichiro.

"It was close, but not close enough." replied Yuji.

"We'll see about that!" Ichiro said as he swung his sword down again. Two streams of fire came down and melded into one bigger stream. Yuji charged up a bigger fireball and threw it at Ichiro's SkyFire attack. The attacks once again exploded on impact. Ichiro watched from above waiting for the smoke to clear again and sees a silver fireball burst through the smoke towards him. Ichiro reflects it away with his sword before he notices a volley of silver fireballs headed his way through the smoke. Ichiro raised his blade and swung at each of the fireballs headed his way, then dived down into the smoke. When the smoke cleared Ichiro and Yuji's blades were locked against each other, both of them trying to find a way to get the advantage on the other. Ichiro tried to kick Yuji which resulted in Yuji using his left arm to block the attack. Ichiro used his strength to push Yuji away getting the quick advantage, and moved in with a diagonal slash. Yuji parried it away and countered with a kick to his chest sending Ichiro to the ground. Yuji advanced on him and swung down at Ichiro who blocked the shot with his sword. Yuji continued to push against Ichiro's sword and saw a smile appear on Ichiro's face as his sword glowed for a second. A stream of fire fell straight towards them, Yuji jumped away as the stream of fire fell on Ichiro. When the fire cleared up Ichiro stood up without a scratch.

"No way, how did you get out of that?" Yuji looked surprised.

"All I had to do was reflect the attack and cancel it out before it could cause any damage." Ichiro explained.

"That must take a considerable amount of skill to counter your own move." Alastor commented.

Silver flames started flowing around Yuji's Blutsauger, and flames started flowing around Ichiro's sword. Both of them ran towards the other and swung their swords at each other. Only the sound of clashing metal could be heard before a flash of light consumed both of them...

**At the Sakai household…**

Chigusa and Konoe were against a wall as Shana held a skillet in her hand that had flames shooting up in it. Konoe looked over at Chigusa. "Does this usually happen?" she asked.

Chigusa picked up the extinguisher on the ground. "Well it happens sometimes and she's showing some improvement." she replied. They cleaned up the mess around the kitchen and Chigusa started dinner as Shana and Konoe watched TV in the living room. Shana changed the channel to an anime series.

"Can I ask you a question?" Konoe asked as she looked over at Shana.

"What's the question?" Shana replied.

"Cooking isn't a skill that flame haze need to know how to do, so why is it so important for you to learn how to cook?" Konoe asked her.

"It's none of your concern, Hecate!" Shana said as she stood up preparing to walk away.

"Would it have anything to do with your fondness for the mystes perhaps?" Konoe pressed further. Shana stopped in her tracks and turned around.

"Why does that matter to you? It's not like you care about him or anyone for that matter!"

Konoe stood up walked right in front of Shana. "You're wrong, I care about the mystes, I care about you too Shana!" Konoe replied with a serious expression on her face.

_"She looks so serious..."_ Shana thought.

"I know that you don't trust me yet, but I want to be friends with you Shana. You have to believe me..." Konoe told her.

"You've betrayed us in the past..." Shana started to say.

"I know that..." Konoe looked at her regretfully.

"But... if you're truly willing to join us and leave Bal Masque behind, then..." Shana paused for a moment and clenched her fist. _"For Yuji and Ichiro's sake..." _She looked up at the blue-haired girl. "I'm fine with you joining us, for now..."

"Thank you, Shana-san..." Konoe smiled at her.

"Don't get me wrong. You haven't gotten my full trust yet! But one day..." Shana told her.

"It's alright. I have to earn your trust, right? I'll prove to you that you can trust me..."

"That reminds me, everything that was going on today you won't tell Yuji or Ichiro about it will you?" asked Shana.

"If that's what you want, then I won't tell either of them." Konoe said as she extended her pinky out to Shana. Shana looked a bit confused at the gesture. "It's a Japanese promise, we link our pinky fingers and swear to keep the promise no matter what." she explained. Shana connected her pinky with hers and she moved their hands up and down three times and then released.

_"I'll prove to you that you can trust me..."_ Konoe's words echoed in Shana's head. _"We'll see about that, Hecate..."_

"Mom, I'm home!" they heard in the hallway. "Sakai-san, I came over to visit." Ichiro said as he helped Yuji walk into the living room.

"Are you both alright?" Konoe looked worried when she noticed the state that they were in.

"What happened to you two?" Shana asked them.

"We kind of took the training a little overboard…"

"A little! I'm surprised you two can even stand after that!" Seraphyne replied.

_Flashback_

_Both of them ran towards the other and swung their swords at each other. The sound of clashing metal could be heard before __a flash of light consumed both of them. After the smoke cleared Ichiro was sitting up on the grass and saw Yuji on the ground a few feet from him. Ichiro stood up and walked over to Yuji._

"_Only a few cuts, so he'll be fine…" Ichiro noticed a necklace with a ring on Yuji. "An anti-flame ring, I guess if it wasn't for that the damages could have been worse."_

_Yuji opened his eyes and sat up. "I guess that was a little much wasn't it." he joked._

"_Yeah, are you able to stand up?" asked Ichiro. Yuji stood up quickly and almost fell down. Ichiro grabbed his arm and put it around his shoulder as he helped Yuji walk home._

"And that's pretty much what happened." Ichiro explained.

"Well now I know I should never put the two of you together." Shana replied.

"Ichiro-chan, Konoe-chan do you want to stay for dinner." Chigusa called from the kitchen.

"Actually, we have to get going, but maybe next time, Sakai-san," Ichiro told her.

"Please call me Chigusa. Yu-chan, Shana-chan dinner's almost ready, so wash up," Chigusa told them.

They said their goodbyes before dinner and were standing outside Yuji's house.

"Today was pretty fun, wasn't it? Well I'll see you later." Ichiro told them.

"Goodbye Yuji, Shana-san." Konoe said before she walked away with Ichiro.

"How did things go for you today?" asked Ichiro.

"It was interesting." Konoe replied.

"So what did you guys do?" Ichiro asked her.

Konoe raised one finger and winked. "I'm sorry, that's classified Ichiro." Konoe said before Ichiro face-faulted. "I promised Shana-san I'd never tell you and that's what I'm going to do." she said before she continued walking away. Ichiro got over his shock and ran to catch up with her.

Yuji looked over at Shana. "So what exactly did you guys do today?"

"Shut up." said Shana.

"Come on why won't you tell me!" Yuji replied.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! It's none of your business!" Shana shouted before she stormed off. Yuji smiled before heading inside to get some rest.

* * *

There's Chapter 5 everyone. As always, thanks for reading and please review. Until next time!

Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson


	6. Shadow's Lurking

I'm back and I finally got Chapter 6 up and running. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do however own this story.

* * *

_**Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson**_

_**Chapter 6: Shadow's Lurking**_

"You want to know if I have found out any information from Outlaw regarding Sydonay's death?" Wilhelmina asked.

"That's right, I was wondering if we were able to find out what caused his death." Ichiro replied.

"I haven't been able to find out whom or what was responsible. If there was involvement by someone else, they've managed to cover their tracks well," Wilhelmina told him.

"Well, I've been thinking…" Ichiro started to say. Everyone looked at him as he continued. "What if there was someone watching our battle, waiting in the shadows for one of us to come out victorious?"

"I think I understand where you're getting at, you're saying that you don't believe whoever attacked Thousand Change was allied with either side." Alastor replied.

"Also, whoever it was took advantage of the situation and waited for one of you to take damage, making their efforts much easier. So we're dealing with a strategist." Yuji added.

"What about Bal Masque's movements? Have they done anything in response to his death and has there been any response to Hecate's defection?" Seraphyne asked her.

"This is only speculation, but there have been rumors that Bal Masque has a new member. As for the Supreme Throne, there hasn't been much movement towards her disappearance from them," Wilhelmina explained.

"That sounds a little too convenient. If you truly defected from them, why wouldn't they want to bring you back? This entire situation has had me suspicious from the beginning, but it's been a week and so far there has been no movement from the Bal Masque. How do we know that this wasn't planned out?" Shana turned to Konoe.

"I'm not sure what you're implying, Shana. I already told you that I left the Bal Masque behind. Yuji-san and Ichiro trust me, why can't you do the same?" Konoe asked her.

"You've been an enemy of ours for a long time. I'm not as forgiving as Yuji or Ichiro! I've already told you, it will take a while before you are able to gain my trust," Shana told her.

"I understand..." Konoe replied with a monotone that resembled her counterpart.

Ichiro looked over at the blue-haired girl and sighed. Things would be difficult for her as long as the Flame Haze didn't completely trust her. Shana and Wilhelmina were still wary of her and he was unsure what Margery felt about the situation. But there was no doubt that Yuji was willing to trust her, despite their past.

"Calm down, midget. Think of the situation for a second. If this new member truly exists and Sydonay has fallen in battle, maybe it's possible that old hag Bel Peol feels like she doesn't need her anymore," Margery suggested.

"I doubt that, all their past plans have revolved around Hecate's power, she has a very important role for them." Shana countered.

"It's hard to see what they're planning. If they wanted Hecate back, then just like Shana said they would have attempted to attack us in order to retrieve her. However, at the same time, if they did attack, they already know that we would be expecting it, which may cause them to change their strategy for the moment," Yuji explained to them.

"Add in the fact that Sydonay is gone and they're at a disadvantage at the moment. There aren't many moves that they could make at the moment," Ichiro added.

"Knowing that Shana, it's safe to say that Konoe-san may be telling the truth," Yuji told them.

"Thank you, Yuji..." Konoe gave him a small smile. Shana wore a disapproving look on her face as she watched the exchange between the Mystes and the blue-haired Guze Queen.

"That's all well and good, but what will you do when they decide to take her back? It may escalate into a full-blown battle this time around," Margery asked.

"Indeed, Bal Masque isn't the type to keep quiet for long," Wilhelmina warned them.

"That's true, but even so, we can't afford to hand her over to them. If they need her to proceed with their plans, then they'll have to go through me to take her back," Ichiro answered calmly.

"That's pretty tough talk for a kid. Are you sure that you can back it up?" Margery smirked.

"Of course. I'm more than capable of fighting against Bal Masque, if the situation calls for it. I just hope that it won't have to be on my own..." Ichiro replied.

Ichiro looked over at the remaining Flame Haze in the room and while Shana seemed indifferent to the thought of protecting Hecate, Wilhelmina nodded, understanding that they had a common enemy in this war.

"Anyways we have to get going, we have school today." Yuji told them.

"Don't expect me to show up." Satou replied.

"I guess I'll see you all later." Ichiro said as they walked outside Satou's house. Yuji, Shana, and Konoe nodded before they walked away.

"I'm heading back to the house now. I'll see if I can find anymore information on the Bal Masque," Wilhelmina told them.

"Carmel-san, could I come with you? I'd like to help you with your research, if I can," Ichiro suggested.

"Indeed, I could use some help sorting through what I've gathered. Any help that you can provide is more than welcome, Ichiro-san," Wilhelmina replied.

"So, you're skipping school too?" Margery asked him.

"It's not skipping if I don't go to school in the first place. Later..." Ichiro told her before he followed the pink-haired flame haze.

* * *

**~Misaki High School~**

"Good morning Yuji, Shana-chan," Ogata said outside the classroom. They nodded as Ogata looked over at Konoe. "Konoe-san, good morning."

"Good morning," Konoe returned her greeting.

"I'm glad to see that you're feeling better," Ogata told her.

"Feeling better?" Yuji looked confused.

"You don't remember? Konoe-san got sick a few days before winter break. I haven't seen her until now. Ogata said before grabbing Konoe's hand. "Let's go say hi to the others. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you." She added as they walked into the classroom.

"She remembered her," Yuji muttered.

"It would seem that the moment the Supreme Throne reappeared in this world as a human, her existence continued from where it was cut off," Alastor quietly voiced his opinion to them.

"I guess that makes sense," Shana replied.

They walked into the classroom and Kazumi immediately walked over to them.

"Shana, Sakai-kun what is Konoe-san doing here?" she asked.

"It's a long story, we'll tell you about it later, but for now don't worry about her." Shana told her.

"Alright people take your seats we're starting homeroom now." The teacher said as everyone got in their seats.

After that class, we headed over to our next classes. First class was math, and the class before lunch break was reading. During lunch, we met up on the rooftop and told Kazumi everything that was going on.

"So Konoe-san left that group, Bal Masque and that's why she's with you now." Kazumi said.

"Although we're not sure if we're just falling right into their hands." Shana replied.

"So do you guys trust her?" Kazumi asked them. "I mean, the last time she was here, she was trying to get something from Yuji, wasn't she?"

"I trust her, but I wouldn't say the same for Shana." Yuji replied.

"You're way too trusting..." Shana reprimanded him.

"I think I can understand why Shana's hesitant around her." Kazumi said with a knowing smile. "I would be the same way too, but if you trust her Sakai-kun, then I trust her too."

"There you guys are…" a voice called out. They looked to see Konoe walking over to them. "I've been looking for you guys. Evening classes are about to start up."

* * *

A beautiful sunset filled the surroundings with an orange glow as the students from Misaki High headed home. After they separated from Ike, Ogata and Tanaka, they continued on their way to the mystes' house. As they closed in on his home, they spotted a familiar black-haired boy leaning up against a wall.

"Ichiro!" Konoe ran ahead of them, reaching the black-haired flame haze first.

"How was your day, Konoe-san?" Ichiro asked her.

"It was pretty interesting..." Konoe replied.

"Ichiro, what are you doing here?" Shana asked him.

"I was doing some research with Wilhelmina-san when I started to get hungry, so I decided to go out and buy a bento from the convenience store," Ichiro explained.

"How about you come with us? My mom was planning on cooking for all of us tonight," Yuji suggested.

"I wouldn't want to impose..." Ichiro told him.

"It's alright. She wanted me to invite you and Konoe-san anyway," Yuji reassured him.

"Alright then..." Ichiro replied, a smile appearing on his face.

* * *

Yuji, Ichiro and Kazumi were sitting in the backyard as Shana helped Chigusa prepare the table for dinner.

"So you must be the one that Sakai-kun met a week ago..." Kazumi said.

"That's right. Ichiro, this is a classmate of mine, Yoshida Kazumi. Yoshida-san, this is Ichiro, we met him about a week ago," Yuji said, introducing them to each other.

"It's nice to meet you, Yoshida-san," Ichiro told her.

"It's nice to meet you too, but there's no need for formalities. Please just call me Kazumi," Kazumi told him. "So you're a Flame Haze, just like Shana?"

"...I see, so you know about the truth of this world as well," Ichiro looked surprised.

"It was scary when I first learned about it, but now... I want to do whatever I can to help Sakai-kun and Shana-san," Kazumi explained.

"Well, it takes a lot of courage to do that. That's very admirable, Kazumi," Ichiro told her.

"Thanks..." Kazumi gave him a shy smile.

"So were you able to find out anything from the information Wilhelmina has gathered?" Yuji asked him.

"Not that much yet... but there was some information on who targeted Sydonay after we battled. I feel like..." Ichiro stopped in the middle of his sentence and looked off in the distance.

"You feel it right?" Yuji asked her.

"You mean the denizen that just appeared in the city, not that hard to miss." Shana stepped out into the backyard.

"What do you think we should do about it?" Ichiro asked her.

"Nothing for now, it's possible that it's having second thoughts now that it notices there are four flame hazes in the area," Alastor told them.

"Yu-chan, dinner's ready!" Chigusa told him.

After they all washed up, All of them were sitting at the table eating dinner. Chigusa smiled as she saw all of them enjoying her meal. She turned to her son's two new friends and started a conversation.

"So, Yu-chan tells me that you both of you live on your own. Does it get lonely sometimes?" Chigusa asked them.

"It does feel that way sometimes, but it's also kind of fun." Konoe replied.

"And what about you, Ichiro?" Chigusa asked him.

"I've been doing it for a while, so I've gotten used to it. Although, Seraphyne does check up on me every once in a while." Ichiro told her.

"Seraphyne, is that your older sister? She sounds like a nice person." Chigusa said.

"Yeah, she's also very wise." Ichiro replied.

After dinner Yuji and Kazumi helped his mom clean up, while Ichiro stepped outside for a second.

"That denizen still hasn't moved yet, there's something not right about this." Ichiro looked up at the night sky.

"I can understand why you're feeling uneasy. Are you planning on going?" Seraphyne asked him. Ichiro nodded. "Very well then..."

"Ichiro..." he heard behind him. He turned to see Konoe standing behind him.

"Konoe-san…"

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'll go check out what's going on with that denizen." Ichiro told her. He noticed that she looked worried and placed his hand on her head. "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it."

Ichiro noticed Shana standing at the doorway and nodded before he jumped to the rooftops and headed in the direction of the denizen.

"Come on let's wait inside for him to get back." Shana suggested. Konoe nodded and looked back in the direction he left before following Shana inside.

* * *

Ichiro jumped from roof to roof closing in on his location. He landed in the middle of a park and looked around, trying to find the denizen.

"_Alright, they should be around here somewhere…"_ Ichiro thought.

"I was getting impatient. I wondered when one of you would show up."

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Ichiro said looking around.

"But I have to say, I'm surprised that it is you that has come here, Ichiro..." the voice told him.

"It couldn't be…" Seraphyne sounded surprised.

"What the hell are you doing here? Tsubasa!" Ichiro shouted as a man appeared wearing a grey priest's garb. The man had white hair and piercing red eyes.

"Ichiro... you've grown up. I'm glad to see that you're doing well." Tsubasa told him. Ichiro stared back at the white-haired denizen with a cold glare. "What's with that look? You're still not upset about that disagreement, are you?"

"Disagreement?" Ichiro clenched his fist. "Is that what you call what you did?"

"It's a shame, really. If only you could understand why it needed to be done."

"Damn you! I won't forgive you for what you've done! I've lost two people because of you..." Ichiro's bangs covered his eyes before a smirk appeared on his face. "You were lucky the last time... I failed to kill you that day, but this time..."

The seal appeared under Ichiro and the surroundings turned Crimson. Tsubasa smiled as he watched the black-haired boy summon his blade before he jumped towards him.

"I WILL KILL YOU!" Ichiro shouted, his eyes filled with rage.

He attacked with a vertical slash that Tsubasa easily sidestepped and countered with a punch to Ichiro's face. Ichiro staggered back from the hit and charged in again swinging his sword at Tsubasa only to miss every strike. Tsubasa jumped away and Ichiro charged up a fireball and threw it towards him. Tsubasa fired a black beam of energy that destroyed the fireball and struck the ground near Ichiro, sending him flying and landing on the ground.

"Damn it, he's even more powerful than he was before!" Ichiro said as he sat up.

"Ichiro, listen to me calm down! You won't be able to battle efficently if you let your anger get in the way!" Seraphyne shouted.

"Seraphyne… alright, but I can't him get away this time!" Ichiro replied as he stood up preparing his next attack.

* * *

**~At the Sakai household…~**

"What's going on? You guys didn't activate the seal, did you?" Kazumi looked at Chigusa who was completely frozen.

"Ichiro used the seal... It looks like whoever Ichiro found was looking for a fight." Shana said.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Yuji asked them.

Konoe stood up from the couch. "I have a feeling… We shouldn't have let him go by himself." Konoe said before the expression on her face became determined. "I'm going after him." she said heading to the door.

"Hold on..." she heard behind her. She turned to see Yuji and Shana behind her. "You're not going by yourself. We're going with you." Shana informed her. Part of her didn't trust Hecate going by herself, while the other part was surprised at Hecate's quick decision to aid Ichiro.

Konoe nodded and flew off in the direction of the seal. Shana materialized her wings and Yuji grabbed onto her as they followed behind the Guze Queen.

"Be careful, Shana... Sakai-kun..." Kazumi said as she watched them disappear in the distance.

* * *

**~In the Fuzetsu…~**

Ichiro dodged the black beam headed for him and quickly ran towards Tsubasa trying a diagonal strike. Tsubasa raised his arm and a black aura surrounded it acting as a shield against Ichiro's repeated strikes. Tsubasa jumped away and landed a few feet away from Ichiro.

"Ichiro, you could have been so much stronger than you've turned out to be. You're truly a disappointment," Tsubasa told him.

"Shut up! I don't need to be lectured by someone like you!" Ichiro jumped forward with a vertical slash.

Tsubasa formed a shadow blade around his arm and lifted it up to block his strike. Ichiro pushed down on the blade, trying to overpower him, but Tsubasa sneered at his attempt.

"That's such a shame. You used to look up to me, or have you forgotten everything?"

"Shut up!" Ichiro shouted.

Ichiro eased off pushing his blade against Tsubasa, surprising him for a moment when he jumped back. Tsubasa jumped in the air after him and swung his blade down at the black-haired flame haze. Ichiro parried Tsubasa's strike and slammed his fist into Tsubasa's face, knocking the denizen away from him. Tsubasa quickly regained his composure, landing on his feet and placing a hand on his jaw. A cruel laugh escaped from the denizen's mouth.

"Is that your best, Ichiro?" Tsubasa asked him.

"Of course not. It's not like I've been sitting around and doing nothing all this time." Ichiro replied.

"You might as well have been… Seraphyne, it's as I've said before... Being bound to such a weak contractor is truly a waste of your power."

"Tsubasa, you of all people know that you shouldn't underestimate him. If Ichiro was as weak as you claim he is, then you would have killed us the last time," Seraphyne told him.

"You know very well that he got lucky. He doesn't have what it takes to kill me on his own. He will never have what it takes!" Tsubasa spoke with a smug smirk on his face.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion!" Ichiro shouted. Crimson fire burst from his hands, forming into large fireballs. Tsubasa retreated to the sky as Ichiro threw the fireballs at him. Tsubasa dodged them easily as he noticed Ichiro flying towards him. He smiled and fired a black ball of energy at Ichiro. Ichiro quickly evaded the attack catching Tsubasa by surprise as he slashed him across his chest then followed up with a kick to his chest sending him to the ground. Ichiro landed a few feet away from him and lifted his sword to the sky. "SkyFire!" he shouted as six streams of fire fell down around Tsubasa as he sat up. The streams of moved around in a circle creating a wall of fire as Ichiro drove his sword into the ground. He moved his hands together controlling the streams of fire as all six of them collided into Tsubasa exploding on impact.

"Did we get him?" Ichiro asked as the smoke started to clear up. Ichiro's facial expression changed to shock as he saw Tsubasa stand in the middle of the area unharmed. "How…?" asked Ichiro.

"You're too naive..." Tsubasa told him before he disappeared from his line of sight.

Ichiro's eyes searched the area, trying to find him, but was interrupted when he felt something rip straight across his back. Ichiro screamed in pain before he fell face first to the ground. He turned his head to see Tsubasa looking down at him with a cruel smirk. The black aura around Tsubasa's hand had formed into claws. Claws that were covered with his blood...

"Damn it!" Ichiro tried to reach out for his sword, but it was kicked away by the white-haired denizen. Tsubasa slammed his foot on Ichiro's back, causing him to grunt in pain.

"Good, you're alive. I have a question to ask you, Ichiro." Tsubasa told him. The black-haired boy didn't respond, but from the way that he was looking up at him, he knew that he had his attention.

"I'm looking for a hougu it's incredibly rare in value. I have reason to believe that you know where I can find it."

"Ugh... I don't know what... you're talking about," Ichiro replied.

"Really, not even if I told you that she was the one that was in possession of this hougu?"

"Even with that fact, we still don't know and even if we did know do you really think we'd tell you!" Seraphyne answered.

"Very well then if you won't tell me…" he started as a black ball of energy formed in his hand. "Then I'll just have to _kill _you!" The ball of energy grew in size.

"Ichiro, you've got to move!" Seraphyne told him.

"No chance, Seraphyne I won't be able to move quickly enough…" Ichiro replied weakly, trying to get up, but failing miserably.

"Farewell, Ichi-…" he started.

"Aster!" he heard someone shout as a barrage of blue energy beams headed straight for him. Tsubasa jumped out of the way of the attack and retreated to the sky as he saw a blue-haired girl, wearing a white hat and cape, land in front of Ichiro pointing her staff at him.

"H-Hecate…" Ichiro said before blacking out.

"You are... the 'Supreme Throne, Hecate'. If you don't have a death wish I suggest you step away from that flame haze right now."

"I refuse to let you hurt him." she said in an unusually cold manner.

"Is that right, you refuse to let me hurt him? You're a bit too late because I've already done more than enough." Tsubasa replied with a wicked smile on his face.

"Aster!" Hecate said calling on her unrestricted method again.

Tsubasa spread out his arms and a black aura appeared around him nullifying her attack. Tsubasa extended his arm, retaliating with a black beam. Hecate prepared to guard, but the beam was intercepted by a tornado of orange flames.

"Ichiro!" Yuji called out. They landed next to the unconscious flame haze. Shana saw the condition that the black-haired boy was in and gripped her sword, ready to battle without a moments hesitation.

_"What's going on? I don't recognize that denizen whatsoever..."_ Shana thought while she looked at the unknown denizen.

_"Well what do you know... Flaming-Hair, Blazing-Eyes... So she's the flame haze that's contracted with the Flame of Heaven Alastor…"_ Tsubasa looked interested.

"Who are you?" Shana asked him.

"You're the Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter. As much as I would like to test my powers against the Flame of Heaven, I'll be withdrawing this time."

"I asked you a question!" Shana shouted.

"Forgive me, where are my manners... I am known as 'Shadow Master, Tsubasa.' The newest member of Bal Masque!" Tsubasa said. A dark cloak wrapped around his body before he completely disappeared.

"Looks like he escaped, for now…" Alastor said.

"Ichiro…" Hecate said as she looked at him on the ground.

Shana looked at the slash marks on his back. "Come on, let's get him back to the house, we can heal him better there."

Hecate nodded as she glowed blue and in an instant they were no where to be seen.

* * *

And that's it for Chapter 6. Thanks for reading and please review. Until next time!

Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson


	7. A Flame Ignited

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do however own this story.

* * *

**Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson**

**Chapter 7: A Flame Ignited!**

"So how is he doing?" Shana asked as she looked over at Konoe watching over a bandaged up Ichiro.

"For the moment he's still unconscious, I've never seen wounds like that inflicted upon anyone." Wilhelmina told them.

"It's Tsubasa's unique ability…" Seraphyne explained. They looked over at Ichiro as she continued. "Tsubasa can manipulate the power of shadows to any shape he wants to, but it's not only that ability that makes him dangerous."

"I see... It sounds like you know a lot more about Tsubasa than we'd expect, Empress of Battle," Alastor said.

"That's true. Tsubasa is the one person in the world that Ichiro wants to destroy the most..." Seraphyne told them.

"Why does Ichiro want to destroy Tsubasa?" Yuji asked her.

"He wouldn't want me telling you all of this, but about two years back, he was betrayed by Tsubasa. And because of this, nothing more than Tsubasa's death will be enough to satisfy him..."

"How was Ichiro betrayed by this Crimson Lord? What happened to him?" Konoe asked.

"You guys better sit down it's a long story…"

_**Flashback**_

_A boy with brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and black shorts was standing on top of a mountain range. Next to him was a woman with long brown hair and dark brown eyes, wearing black training pants, armor, and a cape._

"_Master I was wondering…" started Ichiro._

"_Yes, what is it?" she asked._

"_Why are the Crimson Lords doing this? All they're doing is taking away innocent lives for their own benefit. It's not fair!"_

"_You're acting pathetic Ichiro! You're as emotionally unstable as I was back then when I became a Flame Haze and because of that I almost lost my life during the war. Do you think I'm training you for no reason?"_

"_No, I understand…"_

"_Good now let's do some basic training." She said walking away._

"_Hey, wait up!" Ichiro said running to catch up with her. When he caught up to her he ended up on a battlefield. "What are we doing here?"_

"_For today's training, you'll be fighting me one on one." She said as she summoned a sword and handed it to Ichiro before unsheathing a blade with a gold hilt._

"_So you want me to fight against you?" asked Ichiro._

"_That's right, hold nothing back, because I don't intend on holding back either."_

_Ichiro smiled and charged in towards her, starting off with a diagonal slash. She easily parried it away and swiped her sword against Ichiro's arm. Ichiro jumped back and grabbed his arm._

"_I told you I wasn't going to hold back Ichiro." She said as she saw blood run down Ichiro's arm._

"_Yeah, I just wished that I believed that sooner." Ichiro said getting back into his fighting stance. "Horus, can't you convince her to go easier on me?" asked Ichiro._

"_If Akane went easier on you, would you gain any experience from this," Horus said from Akane's sword._

"_Horus is right Ichiro. You shouldn't be making excuses when this is all for your benefit," Akane added._

"_By the way, why can't I just call you Akane?" asked Ichiro._

"_I'm your master and you'll call me that until you finally reach my level!" Akane said before she ran towards him and attacked. Akane started off with some quick slashes that Ichiro had trouble keeping up with, then Akane parried away one of Ichiro's strikes and knocked his sword away from him. Akane advanced on him, swinging her sword at him until his back was against the wall. "This ends here…" Akane said as she swung her sword down at Ichiro, only to notice that he disappeared from where he was standing. Akane quickly turned around and noticed Ichiro running towards his discarded sword. She fired a stream of fire at Ichiro, connecting with his back causing him to fall down on the ground. She jumped and landed in front of him, pointing her sword at him on the ground. "We're done here, go back to the temple," She said before turning around and walking away._

_Ichiro slowly stood up. "Master, hang on a second…" he started._

_Akane turned to look at him. "Did you not hear what I said go back to the temple now!" she said as two denizens appeared before her. "Go, I'll be fine…" she said._

_Ichiro nodded and ran back to the temple. As he was heading back he could hear the sound on a battle going on behind him…_

_**At the Temple**_

_Ichiro was walking towards the temple's entrance. "Why does she have to be like that?" he wondered aloud._

"_That's just how Akane is kid…" he heard above him. Ichiro looked up to see Tsubasa sitting on the roof of the temple._

"_Tsubasa, so you've returned from your journey." said Ichiro._

"_That's right…" Tsubasa said before jumping off the roof and landing in front of Ichiro. "So what did she do now?" asked Tsubasa._

"_She's fighting those denizens that appeared during our training on her own. I just don't get it, if she's training me to learn how to destroy the denizens, then why won't she let me help her."_

"_Ichiro, you have to understand currently right now even with your training Akane will think that you're a hindrance to her."_

"_What do you mean?" asked Ichiro._

"_Think about it. If you had an apprentice and you were battling against someone, don't you think that if you allowed your apprentice to fight that you'd be distracted with the thought of keeping them safe?" said Tsubasa._

"_I guess so. Tsubasa, why can't the other denizens be like you are?" asked Ichiro._

"_Denizens and Crimson Lords all have their selfish wishes that they want to fulfill, but remember that there are some Crimson Lords out there like me that oppose them."_

"_Right I'll see you later Tsubasa." Ichiro said entering the temple._

"_Yeah, later…" Tsubasa replied before looking in the direction Ichiro ran from with a smile on his face._

_Ichiro entered the throne room, in the middle of the room a special platform had a red flame burning in the middle of it. Ichiro sat next to the platform, leaning up against it._

"_Well if it isn't my favorite soon-to-be warrior." Seraphyne greeted warmly._

"_You always know what to say to make me feel better, Sera-nee." Ichiro replied with a light smile._

"_Well it's just another one of my various talents."_

"_Sera-nee…" Ichiro started to say._

"_Is there something troubling you Ichiro?" asked Seraphyne._

"_Will I become stronger? Strong enough so that I wont be a hindrance to anyone. Strong enough so that people can depend on me."_

"_Of course you will!" Seraphyne told him._

"_You think so?" Ichiro replied._

"_I know so, Ichiro you will become strong trust me."_

_**Outside the temple**_

_Akane was walking back towards the temple, blood stained on her shirt._

"_It's good to see that you're still alive Akane." Tsubasa said leaning up against the temple wall._

"_Oh, Tsubasa I didn't know that you'd be back so soon."_

"_I thought you'd know by now I take care of my business rather quickly. You have your work cut out for you." Tsubasa told her._

"_What are you talking about?" Akane asked him._

"_That apprentice of yours came back, not in the best frame of mind, it's like you broke his confidence."_

"_The way he's acting only proves my point further. He's not ready to battle them yet."_

"_That may be so, but understand Akane, didn't you not feel the same way that kid feels when you were training to become a Flame Haze." She walked past him before he continued. "You should go talk to him…" he said as she entered the temple._

_Akane walked into the throne room and saw Ichiro leaning up against Seraphyne's platform asleep. As she looked at him a smile came on her face. She walked over to him and placed him on her back, Ichiro instinctively wrapping his arms around her neck._

"_Akane, tell me what is Ichiro to you?" Seraphyne asked her._

"_Since neither of us ever known our parents he's been like a little brother to me, so you can see why I want to keep him safe, and why I don't want him to go through the pain I went through."_

"_I feel the same way you do Akane. Ichiro is very special, in more ways than one."_

_Akane nodded before heading to Ichiro's room. She placed him on the bed and covered him with a blanket before heading to the door. She looked back one time and smiled. "Good night Ichiro, sleep well." She said before leaving the room._

_A few hours later, Akane was sleeping in her bed. She quickly sat up and grabbed her sword. "There's ten of them, at the entrance to the temple." She thought as she headed for the entrance. Since she didn't change out of her training clothes it would be quicker for her to deal with the situation. She stepped outside the temple entrance and saw a few enemies under the cover of the darkness night brought with it. She flicked her wrist and torches that lined the entrance of the temple lit revealing a bunch of dark gray rinne._

"_I don't know what you're all doing here, but I suggest you turn back right now!" Akane told them._

"_But if we did that, it would defeat the purpose of coming here in the first place." A voice came from the center of the rinne. The Rinne moved out of the way revealing Tsubasa standing in the middle of them._

"_What's the meaning of this Tsubasa?" Akane asked him._

"_The meaning is very simple Akane. I know that you have the Hougu in your possession. I want you to hand it over to me, and maybe I won't kill you."_

"_Tell me, what would a backstabbing bastard like you want with the Crimson?"_

"_Even you by now know what that Hougu is capable of Akane. Combined with the right elements, that Ore is a dangerous weapon which I intend on controlling."_

"_Well we can't allow you take it away, but I assume you won't take no for an answer," Horus said._

"_That's right. I'm not going anywhere until it is in my possession." Tsubasa said before looking over at his Rinne. "If you don't mind, seize her!" he said as the Rinne moved towards Akane. Akane raised her sword and swung it, a stream of fire headed towards the Rinne. The Rinne jumped out of the way of the flames and they all ran towards her. Akane ran towards them and slashed her way through them, only to see them reappear next to Tsubasa. "They're not your average rinne, Akane. It won't be that easy to destroy them," Tsubasa said as the Rinne started to surround her._

"_Well if I can't destroy them…" Akane said as flames started to encircle her. The flames spread away from her and surrounded each Rinne, until it made a cage of flames around them. "I'll just make sure they can't interfere in our battle," She said as a Rinne failed to break out of the cage._

"_Prepare yourself, Shadow Master!" Horus said as flames wrapped around him. A black aura around Tsubasa's arm formed into a sword. Both of them charged at each other, a metal clang heard each time their swords collided._

_**Inside the temple**_

_Ichiro woke up from the sounds of battle occurring outside. He headed over to the throne room._

"_Seraphyne, what's going on outside?" Ichiro asked her._

"_It seems like Akane's in a battle with a Crimson Lord."_

"_I have to see what's going on!" Ichiro said, running towards the temple entrance._

"_Ichiro, wait!" Seraphyne shouted after him._

_**Outside the temple**_

_Akane had blood running down from her forehead, both of them sustaining wounds from their battle._

_"Hmph, I didn't think you would give me this much trouble... I'll give you some credit Akane, you're truly worthy of your prestige." Tsubasa told her._

"_Thanks I'll take that as a compliment, but this where this battle ends. I will extinguish you from this world," Akane replied._

"_I agree, shall we end this?" Tsubasa asked._

"_What are you guys doing?" Ichiro asked looking at the condition that they were in._

_Tsubasa red eyes flashed for a second and a wicked smile appeared on his face. "We're just having a friendly match against each other."_

"_Tsubasa's after something that I have and since I didn't give it to him he's trying to take it by force." said Akane._

"_You're no different than they are!" Ichiro shouted._

_Tsubasa moved quickly and grabbed Ichiro by his neck raising him up high._

"_Tsubasa let him go, this is between you and me!" Akane ordered._

"_Is the mighty Akane showing her weakness because of a human child?"_

"_Let him go, Tsubasa!" shouted Akane._

"_No Akane, I wont let him go." Tsubasa said as a ball of dark energy formed in his hand. Akane disappeared from view and reappeared in front of Tsubasa landing a punch to his face. She grabbed Ichiro and jumped away from Tsubasa placing Ichiro on the ground._

"_You okay, Ichiro?" Akane asked him._

"_Yeah, I'm alright master." Ichiro said before pointing behind her. "Master, look out!" he shouted as Tsubasa ran towards them with his dark sword. Akane pushes Ichiro away and swings her sword at Tsubasa. Tsubasa dodges her swing and drives his sword into her. Blood splattered on Ichiro's face as he watched Akane's body land on the ground, blood pooling around her. Ichiro ran over to her quickly, turning her towards him._

"_Master… come on you're going to be alright aren't you? Master…Master!"_

"_Ichiro…kun…" Akane said before coughing up blood._

"_Are you alright, master?" Ichiro asked her._

"_You can…call…me…Akane," Akane said coughing in between._

"_Akane-nee-san, stop talking. You have to save your strength," Ichiro said as tears started running down his face._

_"I don't have much time left... Ichiro, listen to me… fulfill you destiny… now is the time…" Akane said._

"_Are you sure about this?" asked Ichiro._

"_I have faith in you, child. You must succeed... where we have failed..." Horus' voice came from Akane's blade._

"_Ichiro… you've always been like a little brother to me... I'll always be proud of you… I love…you." Akane told him. She reached up and cupped his cheek with a smile on her face before her hand fell limp at the last word she said._

"_Akane… don't leave me…" Ichiro said softly._

_"Is she done saying her last words?" Tsubasa asked. Ichiro glared at the white-haired denizen. "Now, step away from her, Ichiro..."_

"_Leave her alone Tsubasa!" Ichiro shouted. Tsubasa raised his hand and a pulse of energy sent Ichiro flying inside of the temple. Tsubasa searched Akane but couldn't find what he was looking for._

"_Master, were you able to find it?" One of the rinne asked._

"_No, it seems like it disappeared from her." Tsubasa said holding Akane up by her hair bringing her face in front of his. "So Akane, you performed one last trick before you died huh?" he said before throwing her to the side._

"_So where do you think it is?" the rinne asked._

"_I don't know where she would… the boy! After the child right now!" he said as he entered the temple with the rinne._

_**Inside Seraphyne's throne room**_

"_Ichiro, what happened out there?" Seraphyne asked him._

"_Akane she's…gone." Ichiro replied wiping the tears from his eyes._

"_I'm sorry Ichiro…" Seraphyne told him._

"_Seraphyne… when I came here for the first time, fighting was something that was the last thing on my mind. I didn't care much for this battle between Flame Hazes and Crimson Lords but I guess that was because I didn't have anyone that I cared about. But now, I can't allow Tsubasa to get away with this, he went out of his way to kill the one person in this world that I cared about. There's nothing more for me here..." Ichiro said._

_He heard pounding on the gate to the main throne as he walked up to Seraphyne's platform._

"_Great Queen of Guze, Empress of Battle, Seraphyne. I accept your contract. As thy container reside in my body. Let us walk the path of a Flame Haze until we're consumed by death." Ichiro said before he walked up the steps and into the crimson flames. The flames wrapped around Ichiro, eventually the flames vanished from view. Ichiro's hair had become black and a black coat with a gold lining was draped over him._

"_Choose the Jinki you desire." Seraphyne said._

"_A headband, so you can see everything I see and in turn I can have a voice of reason guiding me through everything." Ichiro replied before a crimson flame appeared before him and a long headband materialized from it. He immediately tied it on his head, before he saw the gate to the throne room get blown down. The rinne surrounded Ichiro as Tsubasa entered the room._

"_What is this?" Tsubasa asked with a surprised look on his face._

"_Prepare yourself Tsubasa, your judgment has come!" Ichiro told him._

* * *

There's Chapter 7 everyone. The next Chapter will wrap up everything about Ichiro's past and maybe go a little further in depth of the next arc. As always, thanks for reading and please review. Until next time!

Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson


	8. Separate Paths

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do however own this story.

* * *

**Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson**

**Chapter 8: Separate Paths**

"_Flame…Haze…" Tsubasa said before he laughed. "Do you really think that becoming a Flame Haze will really protect you, don't worry you'll be breathing your last breath very soon."_

"_You're all the same, always taking away innocent lives just to get what you want, well I won't allow you to do that anymore!" Ichiro told him._

"_Those are some strong words let's see you back them up!"_

"_It'll be my pleasure!" Ichiro said as he summoned a sword and pointed it at Tsubasa. The Rinne charged at him, brandishing their claws. Ichiro went into a defensive stance as a Rinne jumped at him. He kicked it away as another one came in behind him and scraped his claws against his back. Ichiro cringed in pain for a second before quickly slashing the Rinne behind him. Two Rinne knocked Ichiro back against a wall before they started advancing on him. Ichiro stood up and held out his sword in front of him. Flames burst from the blade and Ichiro slashed every one of them before running towards Tsubasa. A Rinne stepped in his path. "Stay out of my way!" Ichiro shouted before he jumped in the air and kicked the Rinne into an adjacent wall._

"_Very impressive!" Tsubasa replied, mockingly._

"_Shut up!" Ichiro replied before swinging his sword at Tsubasa. Tsubasa manipulated the shadow around his arm and formed a sword of darkness. He immediately brought the sword in front of him to parry Ichiro's continuous strikes. Tsubasa laughed at Ichiro's attempts to try to 'defeat him.' He parried away Ichiro's next strike and used his other hand to punch him sending Ichiro to the ground._

_Ichiro wiped the blood from his mouth. "He's a lot more powerful than I thought…" he thought._

"_Ichiro, your moves are too obvious. He's easily able to counter them!" Seraphyne told him._

"_You can critique my style after I kill him!" Ichiro replied._

"_Already fighting are we? Tell me Ichiro do you really think that you'll become any more powerful than you are right now just because you're a flame haze."_

"_Why does that matter to you Tsubasa?" Ichiro asked him._

"_Because I care about you, Ichiro." Tsubasa answered._

"_That's a lie! You never cared about either of us. You were just after whatever Akane had."_

"_That may be so Ichiro, but I considered you my brother above anything else. This is why I want you to join me."_

"_What! Join you! Why would I do that?" Ichiro said._

"_I could train you so that you would learn even more than you could possibly learn from that pathetic excuse for a Crimson Lord."_

"_Listen to me Tsubasa. You have no right to pass any judgment on Seraphyne. When it comes to Crimson Lords and Denizens I trust her more than any of you. I will never trust another denizen besides her ever again."_

"_So I guess that would be a no?" Tsubasa asked him._

"_I refuse to join you, Tsubasa!" Ichiro replied. The Rinne appeared around Tsubasa completely unharmed. "What the… I just took those Rinne out!" said Ichiro._

"_You can't destroy these Rinne, at least not as easily as those weaker rinne around the world." Tsubasa said smiling before he continued. "I'm disappointed that you would refuse my offer, but it no longer matters I'll just have to kill two Flame Hazes today!" Tsubasa said charging a black ball of energy in his hand. The Rinne around him opened their mouths charging black balls of energy as well._

"_What do I do?" asked Ichiro._

"_You die, Ichiro. Fire!" Tsubasa shouted. Tsubasa and the Rinne shot black beams of energy at Ichiro._

_"Damn it...I'm sorry… I failed…" said Ichiro._

"_Ichiro…" he heard in his head._

"_Akane…" he thought as the energy beams closed in. Ichiro looked down as a seal appeared on the ground underneath him. Ichiro lifted his head. "Reflect!" Akane's voice said from Ichiro's body. An invisible wall appeared in front of Ichiro halting the black beams from going any further._

"_Is that you Akane?" Seraphyne asked._

_Ichiro nodded. "I only have a short time left." she said talking in Ichiro's body._

"_Reflect won't work against that many attacks Akane!" said Seraphyne._

"_I'm not aiming to reflect his attack. I'm stopping this battle, the pressure created from those attacks against reflects will cause a backlash of power so intense that neither one of them will be able to continue the battle…"_

"_You're still looking out for him, even when you're about to move on."_

"_Seraphyne, please take good care of him for me. He now holds a power that cannot land in Tsubasa's hands."_

"_When did you transfer it?" asked Seraphyne._

"_The moment I held onto him before Tsubasa struck me down." She responded as the energy started to flash. "Goodbye…Seraphyne…" she said as her presence left Ichiro's body. The energy exploded and a white flash surrounded the area. When the light died down the temple had been destroyed. Tsubasa's clothes had rips and tears all over it as he looked around the area, Ichiro was no where to be seen._

"_That unrestricted method… it was one of Akane's. I can't sense him anywhere, it looks like the kid wasn't able survive after all. Looks like my job is done here." He said before a dark cloak appeared around him and a second later he disappeared._

**End Flashback**

"As you already know Ichiro didn't die from that blast, he was only unconscious underneath all the rocks from the explosion." said Seraphyne.

"There's something I don't understand from all of this. You said that day that Ichiro said that he would never trust another Crimson Denizen." claimed Shana.

"Yes, that's exactly what he said."

"Then why did he help Hecate if he swore never to trust the denizens."

"Ichiro… it's kind of a complex situation. After his first battle with Tsubasa any denizen that stood in his path became an enemy that he would kill. There were these two kids that approached us, but since they weren't interested in Ichiro they were the only ones spared from his anger towards all denizens. A while back I thought it would be hopeless and Ichiro wouldn't trust anyone, but he's changed since then and he actually seems more peaceful."

Konoe looked deep in thought. "Konoe…" said Seraphyne. She looked over at Seraphyne as she continued. "I think maybe it's your influence that's helped him change."

"Why do you think it's me?" Konoe asked her.

"Well I can't necessarily be sure about this, but you were the first denizen that he ever showed kindness to in a while, so that's why I think…"

"I see you still like telling people my life story while I'm unconscious." Ichiro said as he sat up.

"Ichiro!" Yuji and Shana said surprised.

"Are you alright?" Konoe asked him.

"Yeah I'm fine." He replied before he grunted as a wave of pain hit his body.

"Ichiro! You shouldn't be moving yet." Konoe said slowly pushing him back to lie down.

"Indeed, you should heed her words." Wilhelmina told him.

"Severe injuries." Tiamat added.

Ichiro looked at Konoe's worried expression and nodded. "Alright I'll take it easy, for now. So what happened after Tsubasa knocked me out?" Ichiro asked them.

"After we showed up, he retreated." Alastor replied.

"I see, that makes sense..." Ichiro said. _"So he ran off again..."_

"So what do we do now? Now that we know Tsubasa is a part of Bal Masque." Shana asked.

"We do nothing about him. They will eventually attack again. We'll use that time to prepare." Alastor voiced his opinion.

"But if Tsubasa thinks that Ichiro knows where that hougu is, wont he try to get to Ichiro now that he's weak?" Yuji inquired.

"Normal enemies would jump at the opportunity, but not Tsubasa. He's the type that likes to inflict pain continously in order to prove his strength. He'll wait for Ichiro to recover before he engages him in battle again," Seraphyne explained.

"Alright it's about time for us to head back home, I don't want mom worrying about me." Yuji told them.

"Yeah I'll see you later Ichiro, Konoe." Shana added.

"I'll be back in the morning to check your recovery." Wilhelmina informed him before she left the room.

"Goodbye, everyone." Konoe said before turning to Ichiro. "Get some rest, alright." she told him.

"Yeah, and thank you for helping me with that battle." Ichiro replied.

"You don't have to thank me Ichiro, good night." Konoe said closing the door behind her.

"Yeah, good night." replied Ichiro. Ichiro looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "I'm sorry Seraphyne, I almost failed her and I almost failed you as well." said Ichiro.

"Don't worry about the battle Ichiro. What matters now is that you're safe." Seraphyne told him.

"I had to be saved, you have no idea how that makes me feel!" Ichiro said, harshly.

"Ichiro…" Seraphyne replied.

"Seraphyne, are there techniques that I can learn that are more powerful than the ones I currently know?" Ichiro asked her.

"Of course…" Seraphyne told him.

"I want to learn how to use them." Ichiro interrupted.

"I understand. It will be necessary for you to further your training in order to defeat Tsubasa. However you wouldn't be able to learn these techniques here. You would have to go to an area away from a lot of people," Seraphyne told him.

"Why is that?" Ichiro asked her.

"Let's just say if you lost control of it, there's no telling what would happen." Seraphyne explained.

"I like the sound of that already." Ichiro said smiling.

"However, I will not teach you those techniques until you've recovered enough to move around."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be moving around by tomorrow, goodnight Seraphyne."

"Sleep well, Ichiro." Seraphyne replied.

_**Seireden**_

"My lady, I have returned." Tsubasa said as he walked over to Bel Peol sitting in a chair.

"How did it go?" she asked.

"I know that he has it in his possession. There's no way he would have survived back then without it's power." Tsubasa replied.

"When the time comes you must find a way to take that Hougu away from him. Did you encounter the mystes with the Reiji Maigo?" Bel Peol asked him.

"Yes, he was traveling with the Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter. What are your plans for the mystes?" Tsubasa inquired.

"I have no plans whatsoever. Although, an informant of mine is personally taking care of that as we speak."

"Then I guess for now I'll be taking my leave, until next we meet."

"Very well then, Shadow Master," Bel Peol dismissed him and Tsubasa teleported away. Fecor appeared behind Bel Peol.

"Is it wise for us to trust him? He could be using us for his own benefit." Fecor looked down at the spot where Tsubasa disappeared.

"Even so, he's providing us with the materials needed to proceed with the plan. Which reminds me, did things work out on your end?"

"The first stage has been completed." Fecor replied.

**_Misaki City (morning)_**

Everyone gathered back at Konoe's house the next morning to check on the black-haired flame haze. Wilhelmina examined his wounds for a moment and re-bandaged them.

"Your recovery is going well. Your wounds haven't healed yet, but you'll be able to move around. However, I wouldn't advise entering into another battle until you are fully healed," Wilhelmina told him.

"I understand. In fact, I don't think I'll be participating in any battles for a while," Ichiro replied.

"What do you mean by that?" Shana asked him.

"Questionable behavior," Tiamat added.

"Ichiro's planning on doing some training for the upcoming battle," Seraphyne explained.

"That sounds like good judgment," Alastor told him.

"We're planning on training for the battle too, so we can all train together then," Yuji told him.

"No, we can't..." Ichiro said with a serious expression.

"Why not?" Shana asked him.

"This training... Ichiro will have to leave the city in order to complete it..." Seraphyne informed them.

"Then you'll be training alone..." Yuji replied. Ichiro nodded affirmatively.

"That's right. This city needs every defense it can get in case they decide to attack it."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Alastor asked him.

"Alastor's right! Going out there by yourself may be a big risk with Tsubasa and Bal Masque around. You'll be safer if you stay in Misaki City," Shana told him.

"I know that, but I can't run away from Tsubasa forever..." Ichiro spoke with a serious tone. "Eventually, I will have to fight him again. I know that we've only known each other for a month and I'm glad that you are all worried for my safety, but this is a risk that I'm willing to take..."

"You won't have to..." Konoe said. Everyone turned to the blue-haired girl as she continued. "I'll go with you, Ichiro."

The other occupants in the room were surprised at the blue-haired Guze Queen's offer. Shana looked at the blue-haired girl with a stunned expression on her face. She still didn't trust her, but it seemed unusual that she would just leave the city with Ichiro if she was after Yuji...

"Konoe-san... I don't know..." Ichiro started to say.

"We would feel much more comfortable if she was with you. At least this way, you wouldn't be out there alone," Yuji interrupted him.

"That's true. She could also assist you in your training," Margery added.

"Ichiro, you've already done so much for me. Let me help you this time." Konoe looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Alright... if it means that much to you. You can come with me, Konoe-san," Ichiro told her. Konoe's expression brightened and he smiled. _"I don't think I could ever say no when she feels so strongly about this."_

"When will you be leaving?" Shana asked him.

"Immediately, we can't afford to waste any time." Ichiro answered.

"Indeed, time is of the essence. We don't know when Bal Masque will strike next," Wilhelmina told them.

* * *

Yuji, Shana, Margery and Kazumi stood outside in the backyard with Hecate who had transformed back into her original form, while they waited for Ichiro. The blond-haired woman had an annoyed look while she glanced over at the front door.

"What's taking the brat so long anyway?" Margery impatiently asked.

"He's just finishing up his prepartations, my impatient princess Margery D-..." Marcosias started to explain before the blond gave a swift punch to the grimoire.

"Shut up, stupid Marco..."

Ichiro walked out of the house with the pink-haired flame haze, giving her a nod before he walked over to the blue-haired priestess.

"Are you ready to go?" Ichiro asked her. Hecate nodded and he turned to the others.

"The time this training will take is indeterminate. We don't know how soon we'll be back." Seraphyne told them.

"Here, take this..." Margery handed him one of her bookmarks. "You can use it to contact us, incase of any new developments."

"I see. Thank you, Margery-san," Ichiro replied.

"Be careful out there, alright?" Yuji told them.

Ichiro and Hecate nodded and she grabbed his hand. A spell insignia appeared under them before they disappeared completely.

"Are you sure this is alright?" Shana turned to the mystes. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded.

"They'll be fine, Shana. We'll see them again soon enough," Yuji answered confidently.

**_In the City area_**

"So this is Misaki City…" an old man standing on top of a building. "Very soon infinite power will belong to us." He said with a smile.

* * *

Alright that's it for Chapter 8. Sorry about it being shorter than the last 3 chapters, but I really wanted to start up the next arc in the next chapter. As always, thanks for reading and please review. Until next time!

Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson


	9. Mistaken Identity

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do however own this story.

* * *

**Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson**

**Chapter 9: Mistaken Identity**

"Do you like hearing yourself talk, old man." The man heard behind him. He turned to see a girl with brown hair and striking green eyes look at him disapprovingly. She wore a white shirt with green stripes and a black skirt that came down to her kneecaps.

"You know I don't have to like this partnership." She said as she walked over to him. "Maybe you should go home and let me handle this. It may be too much for your body to handle."

"Trust me. if I had it my way I would be handling this myself. But it's not, it's the request of the Arbiter of Reverse Reasoning that I take on this operation, and I'm not letting a green around the ears denizen get in the way of my plans."

"And what would those plans be?" the girl asked.

"Don't worry, you'll find out eventually…" the old man replied.

"Whatever, while you figure out your plans, I'll be taking care of business. The Reiji Maigo's the only thing that they need. So that means I can kill anyone else that stands in my way right?" she asked with a wicked smile.

"Of course." The man replied.

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave now. Later old man!" the girl said as she jumped from the rooftop and disappeared into the crowd on the ground.

**Training spot near Misaki Bridge…**

Yuji and Shana had their blades locked against each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Yuji jumped back and fired a volley of silver fireballs. Shana used her quickness to evade the fireballs and ran towards Yuji, ready to swing her sword but stopped halfway noticing Yuji looking distracted.

"What's wrong?" asked Shana.

"I think I sense a denizen." replied Yuji.

"Are you sure? I still can't sense anything." said Shana.

"Its presence is faint, but there's no doubt that it's a denizen." replied Yuji.

"The question now is. Is this truly the amount of power that denizen possesses?" Or is it a denizen that's hiding their true presence?" asked Alastor.

"We won't be sure until we encounter them, in the meantime we should let the others know so they can be on the lookout for it." said Yuji.

Shana nodded. "I'll go tell Wilhelmina, you go tell the Chanter of Elegies about this." replied Shana.

"Got it, I'll see you later!" Yuji said as he ran off.

**Satou's house**

"A denizen, huh." said Marcosias.

"That's right, I just wanted to give you guys a heads up." replied Yuji.

"Shouldn't we do something about it? Letting it run loose through the city may not be our best judgment." said Satou.

"That is an option, but only after we can get information on them. They seem weak at the moment but they could just be suppressing their powers." Yuji explained.

"Even so, we outnumber them, but if you think we should wait for information, then I'll help out." said Satou.

"How are you intending on helping out?" asked Margery.

"Carmel-san gets information from Outlaw right? Then I'll help out by helping her search through it. Reading through things isn't really my style but I'll to whatever it takes to help." Satou said as he grabbed the doorknob. "Besides it's better than staying on the sidelines and doing nothing." he added as he opened the door and closed it behind him.

"I guess that kid is still determined to become more than a spectator." Marcosias said as Margery smiled.

"Well I should be heading out too." Yuji said heading to the door.

"That reminds me…" started Margery. Yuji turned around as she continued. "Where did Ichiro and that little brat wander off to? I could sense their presence yesterday and then their presence just disappeared."

"I'm pretty sure you were filled in about Ichiro and Tsubasa's battle." Margery nodded before he continued. "Ichiro left the city to train for the next time he faces Tsubasa and Konoe went with him so he wouldn't be alone out there."

"Any normal person would have given up but he wants to get stronger, I'm impressed." said Marcosias.

"I have to admit that I'm impressed as well…" added Margery.

"Alright, I'm leaving now, goodbye." said Yuji.

Margery smiled. "Call me if anything comes up." she replied as Yuji left the house.

**As he was walking back to the house…**

"Sakai-kun." he heard someone call out. He turned to see Kazumi waving at him.

"Yoshida-san." Yuji replied as she walked over.

"I haven't seen you for a while. I was wondering if something was wrong and you all got into some kind of trouble." she said with a concerned expression on her face.

"There have been some attacks by denizens, but we're doing alright."

"I'm glad to hear everyone's alright." said Kazumi.

They talked for a while and Yuji walked her home…

"Anyways, thanks for walking me home." said Kazumi.

"No problem, Yoshida-san." replied Yuji.

"I've already told you, you can call me Kazumi."

"Alright Yosh… I mean Kazumi-san." Yuji replied correcting himself.

"And remember I'm here to help in any way I can so… you can count on me too Sakai-kun." Kazumi said before running up to her doorstep. "Goodbye, Sakai-kun." she said before entering her house.

"_It felt like she was trying to tell me something…"_ Yuji thought before walking back to his house.

"Mom, I'm home!" he said as he walked through the door.

"Good evening Yu-chan, dinner is almost ready. Oh and Shana-chan is in the living room." He heard his mom say from the kitchen. He walked into the living room to see Shana watching an anime series featuring an orange-haired high school boy and a black-haired girl with special powers.

"You're back, did you tell them?" asked Shana.

"Yeah, everyone's on the lookout now." replied Yuji.

"Then it's only a matter of time until we find out what they're doing here." said Alastor.

"I wonder how those two are doing out there, I know that they said their training would take a while but things aren't really the same without them." said Yuji.

"I know what you mean but it can't be helped. When a Flame Haze has an enemy, they become their number one priority. I could see it in Ichiro's expression, when he woke up he was disappointed that he wasn't able to defeat him and more importantly he didn't like the fact that he was saved." replied Shana.

"Why not, I thought that he would have wanted to face Tsubasa again?" asked Yuji.

"As I've told you before, normally Flame Haze's don't like working with other Flame Haze's. I'm not saying that Ichiro didn't want to work with us, but the fact that we saved him…" started Shana.

"May have made him think that he wasn't strong enough the way he is." interrupted Yuji.

"This resulted in him choosing to train, so he would be able to face Tsubasa alone." added Shana.

"And we won't fall behind either. We'll train even harder so when he comes back we won't have to depend on him, right?" said Yuji.

A light smile appeared on Shana's face as she nodded.

"That being said, there is no doubt in my mind that he will be stronger when he returns." said Alastor.

"How are you so sure about that?" asked Shana.

"He's being trained by Seraphyne and her training tactics have always been known to be a bit… more excessive, by all Crimson Lords standards." replied Alastor.

"You sound like you've known her for a long time." said Yuji.

"Since back in the early days, even back then she was always interested in fighting, but she had never made a contract with any human. Ichiro is her first Flame Haze and because of that fact it is probably the reason that she is more protective of him and wants him to become stronger." replied Alastor.

"I guess that makes sense…" said Shana.

"Yu-chan, Shana-chan dinners ready!" Chigusa said standing in the doorway. "I thought your two friends would be here." she said looking through the room.

"They're going to be out of town for a couple of days, so we won't be seeing them for a while." Yuji replied as he followed his mother back to the kitchen. He felt a hand grab his shoulder before he entered the kitchen.

"We're continuing the training after dinner all right?" Shana whispered to him. He nodded and they both walked into the kitchen and sat at the table.

**After dinner**

"I'll be back in a while, mom." Yuji called out.

"Alright, don't stay out too late." Chigusa called back.

Yuji and Shana walked out of Yuji's house. "I have to go get something from my house, it won't take long, don't worry I'll catch up." Shana said running off.

**Shana's apartment**

Shana walked in to the apartment and saw Satou looking at different articles of information. He looked up at her.

"Hirai-san, how are you doing?" asked Satou.

"I'm alright…" she replied as he continued looking through the papers. Wilhelmina walked over to her.

"I thought that you were going to be training tonight." said Wilhelmina.

"I am. I didn't notice him here when I came by earlier, what is he doing here?" asked Shana.

"He came by a little while after you left…" started Wilhelmina.

_**Flashback**_

_Wilhelmina heard a knock at the door. She opened the door and saw Satou standing there._

"_Carmel-san, are you looking for information from Outlaw?" asked Satou._

"_Indeed I am. The information is beneficial for how we utilize our next move." replied Wilhelmina._

"_Please let me help you look for the information that we need!" pleaded Satou._

_**End Flashback**_

"He wanted to help search through what we recently got from Outlaw, he continued to persist so I allowed him to help and he's been searching through it ever since." said Wilhelmina.

"Well he definitely seems determined…" replied Shana.

**Training spot near Misaki bridge…**

"Shana said it wouldn't take long, but I thought she would have been here by now…" thought Yuji.

"Yuji!" he heard someone call out. He turned to see Shana running towards him.

"There you are. Did you get what you needed?" asked Yuji.

"Yeah." replied Shana.

"So how do you want to start tonight's training?" asked Yuji.

"Actually, I was thinking of something different from our usual training." Shana said as she walked down next to the river and sat down. She motioned for Yuji to come and sit next to her.

"So what were you thinking of?" asked Yuji.

"We should use this time to relax. We won't do any good against the denizens if we're too tired to fight them." Shana said as she lay down on the grass.

"That's true…" Yuji replied as he sat down next to her.

"The sky looks beautiful tonight… It almost seems like life's troubles could be taken away in that endless sea of stars." Shana said as her hand touched Yuji's.

"Shana…" Yuji said looking at her.

"YUJI!" he heard someone shout behind him. He looked to see Shana standing at the top of the hill.

"Shana!" Yuji said standing up. He looked at the Shana standing next to him and back at the Shana looking over at them.

"_What the… There are two Shana's… What's going on here?"_ thought Yuji.

* * *

Alright there's Chapter 9 everyone. I'm glad that I finally got to start the new arc. As always, thanks for reading and please review. Until next time!

Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson


	10. Hidden Power

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do however own this story.

**

* * *

**

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 10: Hidden Power_**

"Yuji, stay away from her!" Shana said walking over to them.

"No Yuji, be careful she's using my image to trick you, don't go any where near her." the Shana near Yuji replied.

"You're the one that stole my image, so stop this charade and reveal your true form."

"I don't have to do anything, you're the fake!" the Shana near Yuji said pointing at her double.

"I'll show you a fake!" One of the Shana's said as she transformed and pulled out her sword.

"That's pretty impressive, but you stole that from me!" the other Shana said as she transformed and pulled out her sword. She charged in towards her double and they both swung at the same time, locking their blades together. One of them smiled and pushed the other one back trying to take an off-balance advantage, but her strike was parried away. They locked their blades together again, but both of them decided to punch the other one causing them to stagger back.

"_Alright they both look exactly the same, so how can I figure out which one's the real one."_ Yuji thought.

"Shana, when it comes to our enemies who is our main concern right now?" asked Yuji.

"Bal Masque…" both Shana's answered as they got back into fighting stances.

"_Well there's my answer. Whoever this person is can copy another being even up to their voice. Asking simple questions won't get me anywhere. I have to ask a question that only Shana could answer… wait a minute, even if they look the same on the outside, their personalities would differ wouldn't they?"_ Yuji asked himself.

"Hey you two quick question." said Yuji. The two of them looked at Yuji as he continued. "Shana, what do you think of me?" Yuji asked the Shana on the left.

"I… I care about you Yuji, that's all you need to know." she replied.

"And what do you think of me?" Yuji asked the Shana on the right.

"Why would you ask something like that at a time like this? It has nothing to do with the situation!" the other Shana replied with a blush on her face.

"But I asked you a question." said Yuji.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I don't have to answer it!" the Shana on the right replied.

Yuji smiled and charged a fireball in his hand. He threw it at the Shana on his left who jumped out of the way to dodge it.

"Sorry, but Shana isn't as open with her feelings as you are. You're the fake!" confirmed Yuji.

"And here I thought that I was convincing enough, oh well." the fake Shana said as her unrestricted method wore off and a girl with brown hair and emerald eyes appeared wearing a white shirt with green stripes and a black skirt that came down to her kneecaps. "You can call me Sasaki, it's nice to meet you." she said.

"As in 'Copycat' – Sasaki, your powers are exactly as I have heard of. They make things easier for you to infiltrate this world because you can disguise your self in anyone's form." replied Alastor.

"Well almost everyone, I still can't copy a high level Crimson Lord like yourself… but beside that, I've come here for the mystes of the Reiji Maigo, please make things easier on yourself and surrender." Sasaki said with a wicked smile.

"I can already guess why you're after the Reiji Maigo, Bal Masque am I right?" asked Yuji.

"That's right, and I don't like to disappoint those who hire me, so I'll make this quick." Sasaki said getting in a fighting stance. "Last chance…" she added.

Yuji summoned his Blutsauger and got in a ready position. Shana gripped her sword tightly as they waited for her to make a move. Sasaki smiled and transformed into Shana. Sasaki pulled out her sword and charged in with a diagonal slash. Yuji blocked it with his sword as Shana ran in with a slash of her own. Sasaki noticed the incoming Shana and jumped out of the way, causing Shana to miss her as she retaliated with a punch to Yuji's face. As Yuji was falling to the ground she gripped his neck and brought him back to her.

"Hey let go of him!" shouted Shana.

"And what reason would I have to do that." Sasaki said, tightening her grip on Yuji's neck.

"I'll give you a reason to!" Shana replied, her anger peaked as she charged in towards Sasaki.

"Fine..." Sasaki replied as she released his neck and punched Yuji in his face again sending him to the ground. "He's not my type anyway…" added Sasaki.

Shana ran in and started swinging her sword against her double, who was managing to block all of her strikes. Sasaki used the hilt of her sword to hit Shana's hand causing her to drop her sword. She swung and cut Shana's cheek. Shana backed away as she saw Sasaki advancing towards her and disappears. Sasaki reappears behind Shana, switched back to her normal self and embraced her from behind.

"It's like I said before, he's not my type but…" she paused to lick the blood off of Shana's cheek. "I think you might be…" Sasaki said with a smile as Shana tried to get away from her. Sasaki ran her hand down Shana's thigh before Shana elbowed her in the gut, releasing her from Sasaki's grasp as she retrieved her sword. "Come on, don't run away." Sasaki added as she saw Shana get back into her battle stance.

"What is wrong with you!" shouted Shana.

"I can't help it, you're too cute!" Sasaki replied, her emerald eyes glimmering.

"I've heard enough of this." Shana said as flames wrapped around her sword. She pointed the sword at Sasaki and the flames shot out like a tornado towards her. Sasaki smiled and held her arms out in front of her. A barrier appeared in front of her and nullified Shana's attack.

"You'll have to do better than that. If I only relied on my ability to copy my opponents, I wouldn't have survived as long as I have." Sasaki said charging a green energy ball in her hand. She threw it towards Shana, but it got intercepted by a silver fireball. She looked to the right and saw that Yuji was back on his feet. "Troublesome mystes…" she seethed.

"You haven't forgotten about me, have you?" Yuji asked as he walked back over to Shana's side.

"Of course not, you're my target after all." Sasaki replied, charging in towards them. She pulled her fist back, intent on striking the mystes. Shana and Yuji sidestepped 180 degrees out of her way as she ran past them. They both shot a tornado of flames that hit Sasaki from behind sending her flying for a few feet before hitting the ground. Shana advanced on her, gripping her sword tightly as she approached the fallen Sasaki. She lifted her sword covered in flames, prepared to strike when a dark blue beam of energy appeared from the sky and hit her sending her back into Yuji's arms.

"Are you okay, Shana?" Yuji asked.

"Where did that come from?" Shana asked, as she looked around seeing no one around. When she looked back over at Sasaki her eyes widened. _"She disappeared…" _she thought.

"Look, up there!" Alastor said. They both looked up to see Sasaki up in the air, next to an old man with a grey cloak on. "Acheaus!" added Alastor.

"Oh is that the Flame of Heaven, it has been a while hasn't it. I bet you thought that you would never see me again." a wicked smile appearing on his face as he replied.

"That was my original thought, after all the last time I saw you, you were very close to death." said Alastor.

"Well, as you can clearly see I'm alive." He stated lifting his hands up.

"Why are you here?" Sasaki asked, looking at him with an angry expression on her face.

"I already knew that you wouldn't be able to handle them, this will be the only time I'll save you, got it!" The old man said with a serious tone in his voice.

"I don't need to be saved, old man. I was about to take care of them personally. Stand back and watch." Sasaki said standing in front of him.

"Be wary of him, his powers may make this battle a lot more difficult for us." Alastor said. They nodded as they got back in their fighting stances. Sasaki landed back on the ground, with Acheaus following after her.

"It isn't wise for you to battle those two right now!" Acheaus said, grabbing her arm.

"Let go of my arm, I already told you I'll handle this myself." Sasaki said, knocking his arm away.

"Those two are arguing with each other, some might call it a dirty move, but I say we take advantage of this." Shana said, with her sword covered in flames.

"Alright then…" Yuji replied, silver flames wrapping around his Blutsauger. They swung their swords at the same time, creating a crimson and sliver flame tornado headed straight for Sasaki and Acheaus. Acheaus turned away from Sasaki, raising his staff. He pointed it towards their attack and a blue beam shot through their flame tornado, dissipating the flames instantly. Yuji and Shana's eyes widened as their attack was reduced to nothing. Acheaus pointed his staff at Shana and fired, the beam slammed into her causing her to land on the ground with a thud. Yuji quickly ran over to her and kneeled down next to her.

"Shana… Shana, are you alright? Shana!" Yuji exclaimed.

"Don't waste your breath boy, you'll be next anyway." Acheaus said, a wicked smile appearing on his face as he raised his staff again. Rage began to bubble to the surface as Yuji stood up turning his attention to them. Grabbing his Blutsauger with his left hand, his right hand clenched into a fist as a silver aura started to surround him.

"The mystes is gathering power of existence, do something about it!" Sasaki yelled at Acheaus.

Acheaus fired his dark blue beam at Yuji. As the beam closed in, ribbons appeared in front of Yuji, creating a shield against Acheaus' attack. A few ribbons headed towards Acheaus and Sasaki. Acheaus managed to deflect most of ribbons and retreated to the air with Sasaki.

"It looks like reinforcements have arrived for them, we should retreat for now." Acheaus said. Sasaki nodded as they both flew away. Wilhelmina landed right next to Shana, immediately checking her injuries.

"Carmel-san how is she?" Yuji asked walking over to them.

"On the outside, her injuries don't look too serious. It looks like they have indeed left the area." replied Wilhelmina.

"Swift Retreat." added Tiamat.

"They ran away…" Yuji said before he felt a pulse from his hand. He looked down at his fist and opened it up. A silver fireball was in his hand, and as the fireball pulsed again black flames started to surround his fireball until the majority of the fire was completely black. "What is this?" Yuji asked as Shana eyes opened and widened as she saw the fireball in Yuji's hand.

"Black…Flames…" Shana replied, looking over at him.

"This is interesting. The color of your flames should be silver, but the appearance of these black flames…" started Alastor.

"Perhaps we should have the Chanter of Elegies take a look at him." suggested Wilhelmina.

They went over to Satou's house. After explaining the situation to Margery, she used an unrestricted method to study Yuji…

Blue rings surrounded Yuji as Margery looked on, a pensive look on her face. Shana, Wilhelmina, and Satou watched on waiting for Margery's answer. Margery held her finger up, glowing blue for a moment, causing the blue rings around Yuji to disappear.

"What were you able to find out?" asked Shana.

"I don't see a single change anywhere inside of him." replied Margery.

"What!" Shana replied with a look of disbelief.

"Can you at least tell us anything about how those black flames appeared?" asked Alastor.

"Nothing whatsoever, if there truly was black flames I'm pretty sure I would have noticed something different." the blond-haired woman replied.

"When were you able to summon those flames?" Shana asked looking over at Yuji.

"I didn't summon them. I was starting to charge some power of existence in my hand to attack them and I felt a pulse in my hand, when I looked down the flames were in my hand." replied Yuji.

"_Could this have something to do with the Silver?"_ Yuji thought.

"_The appearance of this Black Flame as well as those new denizens… is going to be a serious problem…"_ Shana thought.

**Elsewhere**

Acheaus was walking through an abandoned factory and headed towards the back room. He walked up to a complicated looking machine and smiled as he heard some movement behind him. He turned to see Sasaki enter the room.

"Did I startle you, old man?" she asked with a smirk on her face.

"Don't be absurd…" Acheaus replied turning back to the machine.

"So is this part of your plan to capture the mystes?" Sasaki said, looking up at the machine with a look on her face that clearly showed that she wasn't impressed.

"It's like I said, don't worry about it. Besides, our plan seems to be moving in the right direction. Next time, I fully intend on destroying the Flame of Heaven." said Acheaus.

"Hang on, your grudge may be with the Flame of Heaven, but I refuse to let you hurt my Shana-chan again!" Sasaki replied with a stern look on her face.

"How is our prisoner?" Acheaus asked, ignoring her last statement.

"They should be fine. I have them knocked out in one of the back rooms." replied Sasaki.

"Good work, now then now's the time for you to do what you do best…" Acheaus said, looking over at her. Sasaki nodded and left the room. Acheaus turned back to the machine. "And as for you mystes…" a wicked smile appears on his face as he continued. "We're going to make you an offer you can't refuse…"

* * *

And that does it for Chapter 10. Sorry about the delay, but you know how school can be, right? Anyways, thanks for reading and please review. Later!

_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_


	11. Friends Close, Enemies Closer

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

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**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 11: Friends Close, Enemies Closer_**

Yuji and Shana turned in for the night and met up at Konoe's house in the morning. Even though the she wasn't there, they could still use the backyard for training methods. Shana set up a Fuzetsu and they started their training. After their sword training, Shana wanted to check out Yuji's flame.

"Alright Yuji, create a fireball in your hand." Shana said, sitting on the ground and watching Yuji attentively.

Yuji nodded and focused some power of existence in his hand. A silver fireball appeared in his hand. Blue orbs watched as the silver embers flickered, but it didn't seem like it was going to change like the last time. He closed his fist, dissipating the fireball effortlessly.

"I'm starting to get worried about this… I wonder… when Bal Masque took the Reiji Maigo last time, if they somehow modified it." Yuji suggested.

"Hmm, that is a possibility. Although I'm starting to wonder whether or not this is something we should truly be worried about." replied Alastor.

"What do you mean?" Shana asked, looking down at her pendant with a puzzled expression on her face.

The alarm for Yuji's stop watch went off. He grabbed it out of his pocket and looked at the time. "We're out of time. We have to get to school." Yuji said, looking over at her.

"Alright…" Shana replied as she released the Fuzetsu. Yuji walked over to her and extended his hand to help her get up. Shana grabbed his hand and he pulled her up with a little more strength than he was expecting to which caused Shana to lean against his chest. She instinctively wrapped her arms around him. Realizing the situation, her cheeks turned crimson as she looked up at him. "Um, Yuji…" she started.

Yuji looked down at her with a look that asked "What is it?"

Shana's eyes diverted away from him. "Never mind…" she said.

Yuji looked at her a little while before nodding slowly as they separated to change for school. The walk to school was eerily quiet. Even when they got to class, Shana wasn't acting like her normal self. The teachers even seemed surprised that they weren't "harassed by Hirai" at all today. Yuji looked over at her during chemistry class.

"_She looks like she's in deep thought about something. I wonder what it is. She's not acting like she'd normally would, she almost seems like she's worried about something… Is she's worrying about me, or is there something else."_ Yuji thought.

Lunch time came and Shana stood up from her desk and left the classroom. Yuji stood up and headed towards the doorway, intent on following her when someone grabbed his arm. He turned to see a brown haired girl standing behind him.

"Yoshida-san, how are you doing today?" asked Yuji.

"I'm fine, but I can't say the same for Shana, did something happen?" Kazumi asked back, a serious look on her face.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. She seemed fine when we were training this morning and then all of a sudden she's not herself. I want to go find her so I can figure out what's going on with her." Yuji replied turning back towards the door, but he felt Kazumi still latched on to his arm. He turned to see Yoshida-san looking at him, for a moment he swore that he saw sadness in her brown orbs. "Are you okay, Yoshida-san?" he asked.

"I'm fine, but maybe you should let me talk to her…" she replied with a soft smile.

"You sure about this, she can be awfully stubborn when she's like this." said Yuji.

"You're probably right. However, this is probably a situation where you going after her could make things worse. Just leave it to me, okay." Kazumi said, letting go of his arm when he nodded. She gave him a soft smile before walking down the hallway in the direction that Shana went. _"It's just as I thought… I shouldn't be surprised though, after all… he chose her."_ She thought as she climbed up the stairs to the roof. _"So where does that leave me… in your heart?"_ She opened the door and saw Shana sitting on the roof, looking aimlessly at the sky. She walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"Kazumi…" Shana said, noticing her next to her.

"Shana is there something troubling you?" asked Kazumi. When she didn't get a response, a somber expression appeared on her face. "Shana, you know that you can trust me right? You can tell me anything…" Shana stood up and started walking towards the door to the stairs. Kazumi ran over to her and grabbed her arm. "Why are you so upset? It's not like you have any reason to! He made his choice, he chose you!" Kazumi shouted as tears cascaded down her face. "And as much as I hate to admit it… I know that I can never have his heart like you do…"

"It's not that easy…" Brown orbs widened as she saw the black haired girl turn to her, her bangs covering her eyes. "You are right, Yuji did come to me that night but… he never told me his choice…"

"What do you mean?" Kazumi asked, looking very confused.

"That night, he met up with me…" Shana started.

_**Flashback**_

Shana was standing at the north entrance, her eyes searching for the one she hoped would show up. She nervously fidgeted with her scarf. _"What should I say when I see him… or if I see him?"_ She wondered . What was this feeling that she was… well feeling. Doubt, perhaps? _"We have been through so much together, fighting side by side, but will that be enough? No, I can't think that way! The only thing that matters now is that I tell him…"_ She looked up, eyes widening as she saw him standing in front of her. Her face grew warm, despite the biting cold around her as she ran up to him and embraced him. Yuji smiled as he returned her embrace. He pulled away slightly and looked at her.

"Shana…no matter what happens I'll protect you, alright?" he said.

Shana nodded. "Yuji…" she replied with a broad smile on her face before she buried her face in his chest.

_**Flashback Ends**_

"I'm still not getting it, he said that he would protect you so why…" Kazumi paused as she realized the problem. "We both wrote that we wanted to express our true feelings in those letters…"

"Today during our training, he helped me up from the ground but inadvertently pulled me close enough for me to hug him. Hugging him today brought up the constant reminder of the fact that I failed to do what I said I would in my letter. It felt like I was hugging something that could have truly been mine to hold, but I couldn't…" Shana said, looking at the ground.

"And yet, you don't realize something important about all of this." said Kazumi. Shana looked up at her, tears forming around her dark brown orbs. "He still chose you, right?" asked Kazumi. Shana nodded as a smile appeared on Kazumi's face. "That means that there's nothing stopping you from telling him how you feel now!" Kazumi said, as she brought Shana close and hugged her. Shana hugged her back, a light smile on her face.

"Thank you Kazumi, but…" started Shana.

"I know…" interrupted Kazumi. "You don't have to rush into this, just do things at your own pace." Kazumi added as she looked up, hearing the door to the roof open.

"Shana…" the black-haired girl heard behind her. She turned and saw the brown-haired boy she was just thinking about.

"Yuji…" she replied as he walked over to her.

"Are you alright, you haven't been acting like yourself all day. You had me worried!" Yuji said, with a concerned expression on his face.

Shana had a look of surprise on her face. "Don't worry about it Sakai-kun, it was just a girl thing, right Shana?" Kazumi replied, nudging Shana lightly with her elbow.

"Yeah… Kazumi helped me out so I'm fine now." Shana quickly answered.

"Well I'm glad to hear it." Yuji replied with a smile on his face. Shana felt her face get warm when he smiled at her. "Lunch period is almost over, we should head back to class now." Yuji said as he headed to the stairs.

"Right, let's go Shana." Kazumi said as they both followed him back to class.

**Later**

Shana was walking home alone. Yuji asked her if she wanted to come with him and Ike to check out CD's but she refused. _"Alright, we'll meet up for training later."_ she remembered him whispering in her ear before he ran over to Ike and they both headed to their destination.

"_Since Yuji won't be home for a while, maybe I can get a quick lesson with Chigusa."_ she thought, a smile appearing on her face as she ran to Yuji's house.

"Good afternoon, Chigusa!" Shana called out as she entered the house.

"Good afternoon, Shana-chan." Chigusa replied from the kitchen. Shana placed her bag down in the living room and went to the kitchen to see Chigusa chopping up vegetables. She turned to Shana with a smile on her face. "How was your day?" she asked.

"It was alright, thank you for asking. I was wondering if you had any time to give me lessons today."

"Of course I do, let me go get you an apron." Chigusa said as she grabbed an apron from the drawer next to the stove. She put the apron on Shana's neck and tied it on her, then hugged her from behind.

"Chigusa…what's going on?" Shana asked looking up at her.

"Nothing at all, are you ready to start Shana?" Chigusa asked letting her go.

Shana nodded as Chigusa started setting up. _"Something's not right about this… when Chigusa hugged me for a second I felt like I sensed a denizen, but it disappeared. It must be my nerves after today." _Shana shook her head and prepared herself for the task ahead.

**30 minutes later**

Shana seemed to start getting the hang of making an omelet. She proudly looked down at her nearly perfect omelet and smiled.

"Very good, I'm proud of you Shana-chan." Chigusa said as she hugged her.

"_There's that feeling again… where is it coming from? It feels like its somewhere in the house… I better take care of this…"_ Shana thought.

Shana stepped back. "Fuzetsu!" she said as the surroundings turned crimson. Her hair and eyes turned crimson as her nightcape materialized on her. Crimson orbs looked around trying to find the denizen. Her eyes shifted to the movement in front of her and widened. "C…C-Chigusa!" she said as the woman in front of her backed away from her.

"Shana…chan?" Chigusa asked looking scared.

"Shana!" said Alastor. She looked down at her pendant. "Don't let this confuse you, remember normal humans can't move around in this area!" he told her.

She looked back up at Chigusa who now had a smile on her face. Shana brought out her Nietono no Shana and swung it at Chigusa who fell to the ground, narrowly getting out of the way. Chigusa crawled away as Shana advanced on her. Chigusa tried to kick Shana away, but it was blocked and she was pushed into a corner as Shana prepared to strike. Shana felt a hand grab her arm and pull her back. She looked up and saw Yuji looking at her with a serious expression on his face.

"What are you doing, Shana!" asked Yuji.

"What does it look like I'm doing!" Shana asked back.

"It looks like you're trying to attack my mom… wait…" he said as he saw Chigusa stand up. _"Mom's moving inside the Fuzetsu!"_ he thought.

"It looks like you figured it out." Chigusa said in a different voice. Chigusa glowed for a moment and Sasaki stood in her place. "I'm back, Shana-chan!" Sasaki said, her emerald eyes gleaming with excitement as she looking at the flame-haired, blazing-eyed flame haze standing in front of her.

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Cliffhanger time! Now about this chapter…I know the scene from episode 24 was written differently in this chapter. But if I wrote it as accurately as it was in the anime I would have started this story with them being a couple. Having said that, you can already determine what pairing(s) this story has from the development in this chapter.

Anyways that's Chapter 11. As always, thanks for reading and please review. Later!


	12. Overcoming Grief

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

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**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 12: Overcoming Grief_**

"What have you done with my mother, Sasaki?" Yuji asked, rage evident on his face.

"Don't worry about it mystes, she's safe. Of course, her safety really depends on how well you're willing to cooperate with me." The brown-haired denizen replied with a wicked smile on her face.

Yuji summoned his Blutsauger and pointed it at Sasaki's neck.

"Go ahead, kill me. But realize this, the moment you kill me your mother dies." Sasaki said with no emotion in her voice.

"Yuji…" Shana said, grabbing his arm.

"Where is she?" Yuji asked, cerulean eyes staring into her emerald.

"Drop your sword and I'll talk, mystes." replied Sasaki. Yuji looked reluctant to do what Sasaki said, but he dropped his sword to the ground landing with a metallic clank. "I'm glad to see that you can follow orders when you're asked to. Continue to do just that and your mother will be unharmed." Sasaki added looking pleased.

"So what do you want me to do?" asked Yuji.

"You should already know the answer to that question." replied Sasaki.

"Reiji Maigo…" said Alastor.

"You want me to surrender the Reiji Maigo." said Yuji.

"That's right, but not here. Things aren't too compromising in this area, I'll need you to meet us in a remote area on the outskirts of the city." replied Sasaki.

"That makes no sense, if you have us in this position why not just take it away now!" Shana shouted with a frustrated look on her face.

"I have my reasons, reasons that you don't need to worry about." Sasaki said as she pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to them. "This will give you the location of where we want to meet up for the exchange. You must arrive no later than 11:30 p.m."

"Let me guess, I'm not allowed to show up, am I?" asked Shana.

"Nonsense, Shana-chan. Both the mystes of the Reiji Maigo and the Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter are allowed to attend this rendezvous. However, if anyone else, like for example the two other flame haze in this city get involved with this, your mother dies. Do you accept these terms?" Sasaki asked.

"You make it sound like I have a choice… I accept." Yuji replied, a grim look on his face.

"Good boy…" Sasaki said as the paper floated over to Yuji who grabbed it. "Remember 11:30, no later." She said before disappearing. Shana blushed as she felt Sasaki grab her from behind. "Until next we meet, my Shana-chan…" she heard Sasaki whisper in her ear before she felt her presence disappear completely.

"Yuji…" Shana said as she looked over at the brown-haired mystes with a look of concern, a distressed look on his face.

"This is a situation that I hoped would never happen. Sakai Yuji, I never wanted your mother to get involved with this…" Alastor said in a sorrowful tone.

"Don't blame yourself, after all the only reason they kidnapped my mother was to get what's inside of me…" Yuji replied before running off.

"Yuji, where are you going?" Shana asked. She got no reply as she heard the front door open and close. Shana was starting to walk out of the kitchen as she stepped on something. Her crimson eyes looked down and saw Yuji's Blutsauger on the ground. _"He forgot this…"_ Shana thought as she picked up the sword and placed it inside of her nightcape before she released the Fuzetsu. _"Yuji… what are you going to do now?"_ she thought as she looked up at the sun starting to set.

- - () - -

Yuji ran through the streets of Misaki, dark brown bangs covering his eyes. "Mother… I never wanted you to enter this world…" he thought as he turned a corner. "But now that they have their hands on you, does this mean that I have failed? Have I failed to save you?" he thought as looked up and noticed that he was on Misaki Bridge. He looked down at his watch. _"9:30…"_ he thought as he looked up at the setting sun.

"I vowed to protect this city using the power that I've obtained. At first it sounded like an admirable thought, I would be protecting everyone. Ike… Fujita… Satou… Tanaka… Ogata… Kazumi… Shana… Mother…" he said as their faces appeared in his mind. "But maybe… I'm not strong enough to protect everyone…"

"That doesn't sound like you at all." He heard someone say.

"Who's there?" he asked, looking around him.

"Well I was hoping to surprise you…" the voice said.

Yuji's eyes widened as he recognized the voice.

- - () - -

Shana went back to her house and told Wilhelmina about the situation. They immediately went over to Satou's house to tell Margery about it and ran into a familiar brown-haired girl running towards them as they got to the doorway.

"Kazumi…" Shana said as the girl stopped in front of her.

"I felt that… there was… something wrong." Kazumi replied, catching her breath as she grabbed the amulet Khamsin gave to her.

"Yeah, come inside with us. We'll tell you about everything." Shana said as Satou opened the door and let everyone in. When they stepped into the living room the first thing that their eyes were drawn to was the purple-clad blond-haired flame haze groaning and holding her head as she fell off the couch.

"We have a situation Marcosias. You're going to have to give her the Flame of Purification." said Satou.

"Well, now that just ruins all of my fun. Alright!" Marcosias said as a purple flame came out of the grimoire and surrounded Margery. Within moments, the blond-haired flame haze was back on her feet. The first thing she noticed was the other flame hazes in the room.

"We have a problem don't we?" Margery asked, immediately picking up on the situation.

"That's right, at the moment the two denizens that we encountered last night have kidnapped Sakai Yuji's mother." Alastor replied, sorrow evident in his voice.

"So they have Sakai's mother?" Satou asked.

"That's right, but they're willing to give her back if we meet up with them tonight." replied Shana.

"Chigusa-san…" Kazumi said before looking around the room. "Where's Sakai-kun?" she asked, noticing the absence of the brown-haired mystes.

Shana looked down as she shook her head. "I'm not sure where he is. After Sasaki left us, Yuji ran off somewhere." replied Shana.

"I can't help but think what thoughts must be going on through his head." Wilhelmina said. A look of concern was on the pink-haired flame haze's face.

"Unfathomable distress." added Tiamat.

"I don't see what the problem is." Satou said. Everyone turned their attention to him as he continued. "The way I see it, they have underestimated us. Its three flame hazes and Sakai against the two of them. They're totally outnumbered!"

"In normal situations, you would be right but not this time." said Alastor.

"What do you mean?" Satou asked, looking confused.

"Unfortunately, when I meant 'we' in my previous statement, I only meant Yuji and myself." Shana replied.

"Are you trying to say that you want to go alone?" Satou asked, frustration starting to build.

"We don't have a choice. 'Copycat' made it specific to point out that if any other Flame Hazes show up other than Shana, Sakai Yuji's mother will be terminated." Alastor replied in a serious tone.

"So we're stuck… I hate feeling like we can't do anything!" A frustrated Satou said before walking into another room.

"So are you going?" Margery asked the black-haired flame haze.

"Of course, they want me to show up, so I'll show up and bring back Chigusa." Shana replied with a determined expression on her face.

"But what about Sakai-kun?" asked Kazumi.

"I wouldn't worry too much about him." Margery said placing her hands on the brunette girl's shoulders. "He'll pull through…" she added.

- - () - -

"Who's there?" Yuji asked, looking around to find the source of the voice.

"Well I was hoping to surprise you…" the voice said.

Yuji's eyes widened as a brown-haired man wearing a blue trench coat and black pants stepped out under the streetlight.

"F-Father…" he replied looking both happy and surprised.

"It sounds like something's troubling you." said Kantaro.

"Yeah…" replied Yuji.

"Well…" Kantaro said as he walked next to Yuji and leaned on the railing overlooking the river. "You know that I'm right here, whenever you need counsel." He said as the night wind blew lightly against both the Sakai's hair.

Yuji looked down at the river. "I… I can't exactly explain it but I've gotten into a situation where I'm starting to doubt myself. No matter what I swore that I would protect mom in your absence but…"

"Is there something wrong with her?" Kantaro asked, interrupting him.

"No… at the moment she's alright, but she's in a situation that she might not be in the end." replied Yuji.

"I wouldn't be too worried about Chigusa-san." Kantaro said. Yuji looked confused as he continued. "As long as I've known her, Chigusa-san has been a strong woman. I'm not sure exactly what this situation is that you're in. but I know that you'll find a way out of it, because I know that just like Chigusa-san, you're strong enough to handle anything that gets in your way."

"Father… I…" Yuji started before he was interrupted by Kantaro putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I believe in you, Yuji." Kantaro said before walking away in the direction of their house.

"_Thank you… father." _Yuji thought with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and a steady smile appeared on his face as he walked in the opposite direction. His facial expression brimming with new found determination.

- - () - -

At an unknown location, Chigusa opened her amber eyes and looked at her surroundings. Her eyes took a while to adjust to her surroundings. She was on top of an old looking bed in a dark grey room. She looked down at her hands that were bound with rope. _"Where…am…I?"_ she thought. The room door creaked as it was opening. Chigusa looked over at the door as a brown-haired girl stepped into the room.

"It's time. You need to come with me." Sasaki said as she approached Chigusa and grabbed her arm pulling her up from the bed.

"Who are you and where am I?" Chigusa asked struggling against the brown-haired denizens grip.

"You don't need to know who I am or where we are." Sasaki replied. Sasaki looked down at the woman she was pulling along with her. She noticed that the woman was getting overly emotional. She sighed before pulling Chigusa close to her so that they were face to face. "Listen to me, calm down! Do you not realize that you're pregnant?" Sasaki warned her. Emerald eyes looked at amber as she continued. "When I touched you earlier I was able to find out everything about your condition and with how close you are right now you can't afford to act like this."

"What are you going to do to me?" Chigusa said with a worried expression on her face.

"That all depends on the actions of the mystes. If he does what we tell him to do, you're free to go." replied Sasaki.

"The…mystes…" Chigusa repeated looking confused.

- - () - -

Shana was standing outside an old looking warehouse, dark brown orbs surveying the area.

"Hmm, there's no mistake, they're here." Alastor said.

_"Where are you?"_ Shana looked around, looking for any sign of the mystes. She looked down at her watch, the time reading 11:28. _"Time's almost up…"_ her mind told her. She noticed movement coming from her right and her dark brown eyes looked up, a smile appearing on the black haired flame haze's face as she saw the brown haired mystes running towards her.

"You're late!" Shana said with a playful smile on her face.

"I still have one minute." Yuji replied following her joke. Yuji's facial expression changed to a serious one. "Are you ready, Shana?" he asked her.

Shana nodded as the two of them walked over to the abandoned warehouse door…

* * *

Another cliffhanger! I'm sorry, I don't always intend on writing cliffhangers, they kinda just happen.

Anyways, I decided to incorporate Chigusa's pregnancy in this story, which also explains the return of Kantaro.

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!

_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_


	13. Midnight Lost Child

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 13: Midnight Lost Child_**

Yuji stepped inside the abandoned warehouse, the black haired girl following closely behind him. Cerulean orbs looked around trying to pinpoint the denizen's exact location. He looked over to his left, his mind telling him the right direction.

"It looks like they're over in that direction." Yuji told the black haired girl beside him.

"Alright, so what's our plan?" Shana asked.

"Well, unless I show up in the next two minutes they're going to kill my mother so I'll go and greet them." Yuji replied.

"So do you want me to stay back and attack them when I can catch them off-guard?" Shana suggested.

"I don't think that option is available to us anymore, since they have probably sensed that we're here now." Alastor replied.

"Check around the area and see if you can find my mom. They probably have her locked up here somewhere." Yuji said. Shana nodded and turned to walk away. "Shana…" Yuji added. She turned and saw him walking to her. He reached into his pocket and took something out, placing the object in Shana's hand. She looked down at the object and then back at him with a look that conveyed that she understood before they walked in their separate directions.

- - () - -

In the back room, Sasaki had Chigusa secured to a chair overlooking the whole room. The emerald-eyed girl looked down at the ground level where she saw Acheaus checking the machine that he created.

"It would seem that the mystes has arrived here, as well as the Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter." She told the old man. _"But something's off… my Shana-chan isn't heading in this direction."_ she thought.

Chigusa looked down at her abdomen before she looked over at the brown-haired girl standing guard over her. _"She said if the mystes does what they want them to do I'll be free, but ..."_ her thoughts were interrupted by Sasaki looking over in the direction of the door to the room. She looked over as the door opened and a brown haired boy entered the room. Amber orbs widened. _"Yuji…"_ she thought.

Acheaus looked over at the mystes that entered the room. He smiled as he walked over until he was a few feet from him. "I'm glad to see that you showed up, Mystes of the Reiji Maigo, Sakai Yuji." said Acheaus.

"Where is my mother?" Yuji asked.

"She's up there with my young associate." Acheaus said pointing to his right on a platform, where he saw Sasaki standing next to Chigusa bound to a chair.

"Mother!" he shouted, his cerulean eyes meeting her amber.

"Yuji, what's going on, and who are these people?" Chigusa asked.

"Release her!" Yuji said with a stern tone as he turned back to Acheaus.

"Of course, all in due time. I'm disappointed that the Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter couldn't join us at the moment, but it would seem that you sent her off to look for your mother. However, I brought her here in the case that you would immediately try to rescue your mother and back out of our deal."

"I'm not backing out of our deal Acheaus. If it means my mother's safety than I'm willing to give up my existence." Yuji replied with a solemn look on his face.

"Very smart of you. Hold still, this will only hurt for a second." Acheaus said as he held up his staff and chanted some foreign words. Yuji looked down to see something shining on his chest. He grunted in pain as the light extended from his chest and into the machine behind Acheaus.

Yuji fell on his knees and looked up at the old man in front of him. "What… are you doing to me?" he asked.

"Nothing much, I'm just extracting the Reiji Maigo using an eastern spell I've acquired during my travels. I'll have to apologize for the oncoming pain. Only one other person knew how to do this technique and her methods were a lot cleaner and less painful than what you are about to experience." Acheaus replied.

Yuji fell to the ground, groaning in pain. "YUJI!" Chigusa shouted as she tried to escape her bindings, but to no avail.

"_Who did he mean when he said 'one other person'…? Does he mean Hecate?"_ Yuji thought as he remembered the priestess extracting the Reiji Maigo from him last Christmas. Pain coursed through his body interrupting his previous thoughts as he screamed out in pain.

Tears started falling down the cheeks of Chigusa, as amber eyes watched her son cling to the ground trying to somehow relieve the pain.

Emerald orbs looked at the brown-haired woman next to her as a sorrow filled expression appeared on her face. _"No mother should ever have to live through seeing that…"_ she thought before turning to the brown haired mystes on the ground. _"It's almost over mystes, try to hang on."_

The beam of light started dieing down and faded away from his chest before he lay motionless on the ground. The middle of the machine started glowing brightly for a moment before it was replaced with the Reiji Maigo.

- - () - -

Shana stopped in her tracks as she looked in the direction Yuji took.

"Alastor, do you feel that?" she asked her crimson lord.

"Hmm, it feels like a large amount of power is being built in the direction that Sakai Yuji has taken. I can only guess that he has handed over the Reiji Maigo."

"We haven't found Chigusa around here so we should head over there before they have a chance to escape." Shana said as she looked down at her hand, grasping the object Yuji gave her before running towards the direction he took.

- - () - -

Yuji struggled to stand up as he saw Acheaus walk over to his machine. "Alright… you have what you wanted… now give me back my mother!" Yuji said as he got back on his feet.

"Unfortunately I can't do that, even without the Reiji Maigo you have proven to be a threat towards the Bal Masque. Therefore, after we hand this over to the Arbiter of Reverse Reasoning, we will fulfill our end of the agreement and return your mother to you." Acheaus replied.

"You're altering the bargain?" Yuji shouted as frustration started to settle in.

"What do you mean?" Acheaus asked as he turned around with a wicked smile on his face.

"It's not his fault that you misunderstood his terms." Sasaki called out from above.

"Misunderstood… You lied to me!" Yuji said as he charged a silver fireball in his hands.

"I would be careful with who your intending on throwing that fireball at. Try and strike either one of us down and your mother dies." Acheaus replied, his smile remaining on his face.

"Well you can't get out of this bargain then." Yuji said as a smile appeared on his face. He charged the fireball even further making it three times the size of his head and threw it towards the machine. Acheaus jumped out of the way as the fireball connected with the machine and exploded on impact. As he watched the smoke form from the explosion, a dark blue beam of energy shot through the smoke aiming for Yuji. Yuji gathered power of existence in his arms and tried to use them as a shield from the incoming attack, but he was only able to lighten the impact of the attack as he fell to the ground.

"_W-What's going on? H-How can Y-Yuji do any of these things?"_ Chigusa thought as she watched her son stand up.

The smoke cleared up and the machine was still intact. Cerulean orbs widened. _"But how… I put more than enough existence into that attack, and it doesn't even have a scratch on it!"_ Yuji thought as Acheaus looked at him with a look of disdain.

"It would seem that you don't understand how to follow directions. But, why should I be surprised when you hang out with a tool of hunting like Enpastsu Shakugan no Uchite!" Acheaus looked up at where Chigusa was and his trademark wicked smile appeared on his face. "Sasaki, do away with the mystes' mother."

Yuji looked up at the platform where his mother was and started to run towards it, but was stopped by Acheaus who appeared in front of him and swung his staff into his gut sending Yuji back on the ground.

Emerald orbs looked at the brown haired woman beside her before looking down at Acheaus. "Are you sure I should be doing this?" she asked him.

"I didn't ask for hesitation, I asked you to eliminate her!" Acheaus replied as he slammed his foot onto the mystes on the ground preventing him from going anywhere.

A green orb of energy appeared in Sasaki's hand and transformed into a light blade. She slowly brought it towards Chigusa's neck. She saw a flash of light in the corner of her eye above her changing her line of focus. The surroundings turned crimson and emerald eyes widened as a red haired girl fell from the sky and swung a sword covered with flames at her, knocking her away from Chigusa.

Shana quickly walked over to the brown haired woman. "Chigusa, are you alright?" she asked.

Chigusa looked over at the girl, recognizing the voice. "S-Shana…chan… what's going on, why is your hair red?" she asked her.

Shana lifted a finger and a flame appeared on it. "I'll explain later, let's get you out of here." She lightly dragged her finger across Chigusa's rope bindings, successfully burning them off.

Sasaki sat up after being propelled across the room and looked over at the girl releasing the brown haired woman's bindings_. "I can't sense her presence even though she's in front of me. I let my guard down and I didn't notice when her presence disappeared."_ Sasaki thought as she stood up. She heard Acheaus laughing and looked below to see Acheaus holding Yuji by the neck.

"Alright, so you have her back. Then I'll just deal with the container so that this precious hougu won't be able to return!"

"YUJI!" Shana and Chigusa shouted as they looked down at the situation.

Yuji looked up and saw that Shana had gotten his mother out of harm's way. He smiled as he started gathering power of existence into his hand. A silver aura appeared around him as he clutched his hand into a fist and slammed it into Acheaus' face. It felt like he punched straight through the bones in his face as Acheaus was sent flying into the machine behind him.

Shana pulled his Blutsauger out of her coat. "Yuji… catch!" she called out as she tossed his blade down to him. Yuji caught the blade with one hand and his cerulean eyes looked directly at Acheaus as he threw his blade with precision towards him. Acheaus looked up, eyes widening as the blade pierced straight through his stomach. Acheaus coughed up blood as he fell limply against the machine.

Sasaki's emerald orbs widened as a look of total shock appeared on her face. _"No way, the mystes… defeated Acheaus!"_ she thought as she saw his head limply fall to the side.

"It's over, Acheaus." Yuji said as Shana flew down with Chigusa. He looked over at her, noticing her concerned expression. "Are you alright, m…" he was interrupted by his mother embracing him tightly. _"Mother…"_ he thought as he returned her hug.

Chigusa released her embrace and looked over at her son. "I should be asking if you're alright, well are you?" she asked looking him over.

"Yeah, I'm fine mom. You don't have to worry about me." Yuji replied as a relieved smile appeared on his face.

"Yuji, we still have an enemy here." Shana reminded him. Yuji looked up to see that the brown haired, emerald-eyed girl was watching them from the adjacent platform.

"Don't worry I'll take care of her." Yuji said before he felt someone grab his arm. He looked back to see his mother looking at him with a stern expression. "Is there something wrong mom?"

"I… I don't understand all of this that well, but I don't think that you need to attack her anymore." Chigusa replied as she looked up at the denizen.

The brown haired denizen looked surprised as she heard what the woman said. _"Even after all that we put you through…"_ she thought as she jumped down a few feet in front of them. She started walking over to them… until a wicked laugh from behind her stopped her in her tracks.

"I hope you don't think that you actually defeated me…" a weak voice called out. Emerald orbs looked back as Sasaki turned to look at Acheaus. "You wouldn't have just been planning to betray us, weren't you?" he asked as he lifted his head up, piercing red eyes focused on Sasaki.

"How are you still…?" Sasaki started to ask, looking like she was scared stiff.

"You weren't intending on leaving so soon mystes, after all…" The machine behind Acheaus started to glow before existence started to build up inside of it. Shana looked down at her watch, eyes widening as she noticed the time.

"The second round has just begun!" Acheaus added as the machine started outputting a large amount of power of existence.

Shana's hand fell to her side. _The clock struck midnight…_

* * *

Alright that's Chapter 13! This arc is starting to reach its climatic end!

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!

_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_


	14. The Power to Protect

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 14: The Power to Protect_**

The four spectators watched as the old man stood up, seemingly struggling to stay on his feet.

"You may not be defeated yet, but you can barely stand!" Yuji told him before looking at the machine behind him. _"It looks like it doesn't matter to him, though. In one move he's managed to re-create the fountain of existence. But it feels like there's something else that he wanted from this."_ Yuji thought as he watched Acheaus lift his staff and started chanting foreign words.

"That won't matter… after I do this!" Acheaus said as a stream of existence started raining on him.

"What is he doing?" Sasaki asked as she watched the existence swirl around him.

"It would seem that he's attempting to take a portion of the existence to regain his own power." Alastor explained.

"So he's basically using it to recover from Yuji's attack?" Shana asked.

"Yes, however there's more to it. I had a feeling that Acheaus would try to revive the powers he once had. He knows that with the Reiji Maigo filling him with energy, he would virtually be unstoppable." Alastor replied.

The glowing around Acheaus stopped and everyone's eyes widened as they saw Acheaus' new form. He looked like he was back in his early 20's. His grey hair was replaced by red hair and his body looked like it regained some muscle.

"Shana, get my mom out of here!" Yuji said as he charged in towards Acheaus.

"Yuji, wait!" Shana called after him before turning to the brown haired woman next to her. "Chigusa, let's go!" she told her.

"No, I'm not leaving here without Yuji!" She firmly told Shana.

Yuji ran towards him with his right arm glowing with power of existence. He clenched his fist and punched Acheaus in his face again, turning it to the side. Yuji smiled before the smile fell from his face as Acheaus turned his head and looked at him with emotionless red eyes. Acheaus slammed his fist into Yuji's face sending him back to his mother and Shana, who ran over to him.

"Yuji, are you alright?" Shana asked with a concerned expression on her face.

Yuji sat up, holding where he got hit. "I thought I told you to get my mom out of here!" Yuji said looking completely serious.

"She won't leave without you." Shana replied.

"Sakai Yuji, be careful with how you're using your power. Remember that you don't have the Reiji Maigo at the moment." Alastor warned him.

"Right, so our first order of business should be to recover it. Then we take out Acheaus for good." Yuji said, quickly formulating a plan.

"Since it's still in the early stages, we should be able to remove it without things becoming as serious as the last time." Alastor added.

"Protect my mom, Shana. Make sure that she doesn't get hurt." Yuji said as he stood up.

"What are you going to do?" Shana asked.

"I'm going to get the Reiji Maigo back." Yuji replied as he gathered power of existence in his legs to make him move faster as he sped past Acheaus to grab his discarded sword next to the machine. When he turned around Acheaus was heading for Shana and his mother!

"Flame of Heaven, your time has come!" Acheaus said, closing in on them.

Shana quickly pushed Chigusa out of the way as she brought out her Nietono no Shana and ducked under his first strike. She tried a horizontal slash at his body, but he grabbed the sword before it could connect with his body. Yuji tried to slash him from behind, but Acheaus already knew his move and easily sidestepped it, countering by firing a blue blast of energy from his hand, which sent Yuji colliding into the machine.

"Now Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter, it's time for you to learn your place!" Acheaus said as he pushed her away and punched her in her gut sending her into a wall. Red orbs focused on the woman that was backing away from him. A wicked smile appeared on his face. "Well I guess you're the only one left!" Acheaus said before he jumped out of the way of a silver fireball. He looked to see the brown haired mystes standing with silver flames around his blade.

"Leave her out of this. I'm your opponent Acheaus!" Yuji said as he charged in towards him, starting with a diagonal slash, then a horizontal and an upwards vertical slash which all missed their target.

Acheaus laughed. "Is this truly all that you've got, I was expecting more of a challenge from the one that almost killed me!" he said before he held his hand out in front of Yuji. A blue aura appeared around Yuji and as Acheaus lifted his hand, Yuji rose to the sky. Acheaus brought his hand down and Yuji was slammed on the ground. Acheaus repeated it five more times before he lifted Yuji back up and kept him still. "Now mystes, I want you to watch as I kill the one's you care about the most. Starting with her!" he pointed at a worried looking Chigusa. He extended his other hand and created a large, transparent dark blue sphere and pointed it towards Chigusa.

Emerald orbs widened. _"If she gets hit with an attack of that magnitude, then her existence will be wiped out!"_ Sasaki thought as she watched Acheaus.

"Say goodbye!" Acheaus said as he released the energy towards Chigusa. Acheaus wicked smile was on his face until he noticed a red blur come in between the blast and Chigusa. Shana jumped between them and took the blast head on, flying into Chigusa on impact. When the smoke cleared, it looked like they were both unconscious. "Foolish tool of hunting… huh, it looks like there's still life brimming from both of them. I'll just have to remedy that now won't I?" Acheaus said, laughing as he prepared his attack again.

Yuji struggled against the hold Acheaus had on him, but it was too powerful. _"No, I can't let this happen… but I can't get escape him. Why can't I escape this?"_ Yuji thought.

"_You can…"_ a voice in his head replied.

"_Who's there?"_ he asked back.

"_You're pathetic! If you don't want this to happen then you have to do something about it, but since you're too weak to do anything, you can just watch all of them die!"_

"No, I'll never allow that to happen!" Yuji told the voice in his head as he looked down at Shana and his mother lying unconscious on the ground. He felt something pulse inside of his body as he saw Acheaus fire his attack at them. Yuji shouted loudly as black flames started to surround him. The attack collided with the two unconscious women and the flames intensity grew even more.

Acheaus looked up at the mystes, confused at what was going on with him. Red orbs widened in surprise as Yuji started to break Acheaus control over him. The blue aura surrounding Yuji was replaced with a silver aura as he fell to the ground, landing nimbly on his feet. Red orbs met focused cerulean orbs as Yuji looked at Acheaus with a neutral expression on his face.

"Gather as much power as you want mystes, you failed!" Acheaus said as the smoke cleared up. Shana and Chigusa were protected by a green barrier. Red orbs narrowed as he looked up at the brown haired girl standing in front of the two fallen women. "So you decided to betray me after all?" He asked her.

A smile appeared on the denizen's face. "I told you that I wouldn't allow you to harm my Shana-chan, didn't I?" she replied.

"I guess I'll have to take care of you first!" Acheaus said.

"Sorry, but I think someone else has already decided to fight you first." Sasaki replied pointing behind Acheaus. Acheaus looked behind him as he saw Yuji lift his sword. Black flames consumed his blade the entirety of his blade. Yuji ran towards Acheaus and swung his sword releasing a tornado of black flames at him. Acheaus easily jumped over the attack and looked at the ground, seeing Yuji nowhere in sight.

"_Where did that kid go?"_ Acheaus thought as red orbs searched the area. He noticed movement to his right and saw Yuji jump up to where he was and slashed his arm, continuing his assault with a well timed horizontal slash to his chest and a kick that sent Acheaus to the ground. Yuji fell to the ground and got back in a fighting stance.

Sasaki knelt down next to Shana and laid her hand on her chest. Her hand began to glow light green as she tried to wake her from her unconscious state. _"At least enough so that you will be able to wake up…"_ Sasaki thought as she watched red orbs opening. "Are you alright, Shana-chan?" she asked looking down at the girl in her arms. The red haired girl nodded in response before turning her head and seeing Yuji clashing with Acheaus. She immediately noticed that he started to look transparent.

"Yuji, get the Reiji Maigo back!" Shana told him.

"I won't let you!" Acheaus said as he ran towards the mystes, cocking his fist back. Silver flames mixed in with the black flames around Yuji's Blutsauger. Yuji swung his sword swiftly through the air causing a crescent shaped slash of silver energy to fly towards Acheaus, making a deep cut in his arm and stopping him in his tracks. Yuji swung his sword more fiercely, releasing five more slashes that made deep cuts all over Acheaus' body.

"_I wonder what those were… There was more to that attack than just a regular slash."_ Yuji thought as he saw his opening to get to the Reiji Maigo and ran over to get it, but was intercepted by Acheaus who quickly recovered from the strikes and sent him back with a punch.

Acheaus stood in front of the machine as he raised his hands. "If you think… I'm going to allow you to take away my Reiji Maigo, you're sorely mistaken." He said as the power of existence flowing from the machine started forming around him. "I'M TIRED OF PLAYING THIS GAME! ONLY ONE PERSON DESERVES TO HAVE ITS UNLIMITED POWER AND THAT IS ME!" Acheaus shouted as he started levitating up into the sky. He formed a large red orange ball of energy that broke through the roof of the building, causing debris to fall down on top of them. Sasaki formed a barrier around Shana, Chigusa, and herself. Yuji stood a few feet away from them as he looked up at the red haired man. "ACTIVATE ALL THE BARRIERS YOU WANT! FACE FACTS, YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

"Yuji…" he heard behind him. He turned to she Shana slowly walking over to him. "We have to stop him." she added as she fell into his arms. Yuji felt a pulse coming from his right hand and he dropped his sword to the ground. He looked at his hand and noticed that the black flames embers were converging and forming some sort of an attack.

"_This feels like the last time… but it's more powerful."_ Yuji thought as he looked down at the red haired girl gripping onto him. _"I don't know why, but I feel so much more powerful now!"_ Yuji pointed his arm at Acheaus. Acheaus released his attack on them, the red orange sphere closing in on them. He noticed red embers mixing into his attack and looked down at the girl in his arms as she placed her hand on top of his. They smiled at each other before turning to Acheaus and unleashing their attack. A powerful red and black beam was released from Yuji's hand, the shockwave of the attack pushing them back but they were able to keep each other standing.

The beam tore through Acheaus' attack like it was nothing. Red eyes widened in fear before the attack enveloped him. He shouted out in pain as he felt a searing pain shoot all over his body before he was completely wiped out.

"It looks like we got him." Shana said before noticing Yuji was almost completely transparent. "Yuji…" she started.

"I know." Yuji replied as he let go of her and walked over to the machine. _"Come back to me, Reiji Maigo!" _Yuji thought as he grabbed the hougu and placed it against his chest, watching it enter his body and his appearance becoming solid again.

"It's finally over." Sasaki said, standing next to Chigusa who started to wake up. Chigusa stood up and watched Yuji standing next to Shana, a smile on the red haired girl's face. Emerald orbs looked at the machine that seemed like it was starting to overload. "Hey you two, let's bail! That machine looks like it was set to explode when you removed the hougu!" Sasaki frantically told them.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Shana said as they all ran out of the warehouse. As soon everyone was a safe distance away, a bright light covered the area along with a loud explosion. When the light died down, the warehouse was reduced to nothing.

"It looks like he was planning ahead. If he lost, he would be taking us with him!" Sasaki said with a frustrated look on her face.

"Mother, you aren't hurt are you?" Yuji asked as he walked over to her.

Chigusa shook her head. "No, I'm alright." She replied.

"I'm impressed you're a lot stronger than you look." Sasaki said with a light smile on her face.

Shana and Yuji smiled back before their facial expressions turned serious.

"What's going on you two?" Chigusa asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yuji, do you feel that?" Shana asked the mystes next to her.

"I feel a lot of denizens heading in this direction!" Yuji replied as he looked up. A lot of winged denizens appeared in the sky, heading in their direction. "What is causing all of these denizens to appear?" Yuji asked.

"It must be the backlash of the power of existence, released from the explosion that is causing these denizens to flock to it." Sasaki explained.

"And at the right time, we used up most of our energy to take out Acheaus." Shana said.

"Here they come!" Sasaki told them as a few denizens started their descent towards them. As they started to close in, a barrage of blue energy beams appeared from a distance and slammed into a group of the denizens, taking them out instantly.

"That was the Unrestricted Method… Aster!" Yuji said as he saw someone land in front of them, facing the oncoming group of denizens, wearing a white shirt, black pants, and a black night coat. _"Who is that?"_ he thought as the black haired person in front of him lifted their hand and a spell insignia appeared in the sky. A large number of fireballs appeared around the remaining denizens. The fireballs exploded, causing a massive explosion that enveloped the remaining denizens and left no trace of them.

"Now that's impressive…" Sasaki said, her emerald orbs filled with admiration of the power displayed.

"It's been a while hasn't it, Yuji, Shana-san." The person said as a girl with light-blue hair landed next to him. The black haired boy turned around with a wide grin on his face.

"Indeed it has, welcome back Ichiro, welcome back Hecate." Shana replied with a soft smile.

* * *

Alright that's the end of this arc! I'm glad I was able to get this out before Christmas!

I'd like to thank everyone that has supported this story and I hope that you'll continue to read and review.

Later! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!


	15. Secret of this World

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 15: Secret of this World_**

"I guess we were too late," Ichiro said looking at the surroundings. "I felt that build up of Power of Existence so I figured that someone strong was here, but it looks like you guys took care of it already."

Blue-green orbs looked at the people standing in front of them, widening in surprise when she noticed the brown haired woman. "Chigusa-san…" Hecate said in her usual monotonic voice.

"Konoe-chan… Ichiro-chan…" Chigusa replied looking at them.

"_I didn't even notice her there. I guess this means she somehow got involved in the battle,"_ Ichiro thought.

"I know that we have a lot to explain, but please be a little patient. We'll have to repair the damage to the area before we move out of here," Shana told her.

"I'll handle it. It looks like you guys went through hell to win that battle," Ichiro replied as he lifted his hand up. His hand started glowing as sparkles of light surrounded the area and repaired things back to the way they were. "That should do it," Ichiro added as the crimson surroundings disappeared. "We'll head back to your house now. Hecate…" Ichiro looked over at her.

Hecate nodded. "Everyone grab on to each other, I'll teleport us to Yuji's house." She instructed them. Everyone held the shoulder of the person next to them as Yuji grabbed Ichiro's shoulder and Ichiro grabbed on to Hecate's shoulder. A blue spell insignia appeared under everyone before they disappeared. They reappeared outside the Sakai household. Ichiro stayed back and watched as Shana, Hecate, and Sasaki followed Chigusa inside. As she stepped inside she was greeted by a brown haired man wearing a blue trench coat.

"Chigusa-san…" Kantaro said opening up his arms.

"Kantaro…" Chigusa replied as she walked over to him and embraced him.

Yuji smiled at his parent's display of affection before he turned to Ichiro. "Aren't you going to come inside?" he asked them.

"It would seem that the Chanter of Elegies and the Manipulator of Ten Thousands Ribbons would like to join us," Ichiro replied looking up at the sky. Yuji followed his gaze and indeed the Chanter of Elegies was riding on her grimoire with a familiar brown-haired girl next to her. Wilhelmina could be seen running from a distance and quickly appeared in front of them.

"Sakai-kun!" she said as she jumped off the grimoire and walked over to Yuji. "Is your mother alright?" Kazumi asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah, she's inside with the others," Yuji replied with a soft smile.

"I'm glad to hear it, excuse me," Kazumi said before entering the house.

"Indeed, you have returned to us," Wilhelmina said, noticing the black-haired flame haze.

Ichiro nodded before he noticed something amiss. "Hey where is Satou? Didn't you bring him with you?" Ichiro asked the blond-haired woman.

"Well of course she told him to come along, but I can only have two passengers at the same time." Marcosias explained.

"So he had to walk over here… ah here he comes now," Margery added spotting the tan haired boy running towards them. "You're late…" Margery said to him.

"It couldn't be helped. I had to run all the way here while you got a free ride!" Satou replied.

"Excuses won't work on her kid, trust me!" Marcosias told him.

- -()- -

Everyone had entered the house and got settled inside of the Sakai living room. Chigusa and Kantaro sat next to each other in the living room.

"Alright Yu-chan I need you to tell me what is going on here."

"It's kind of complicated…" Yuji started, his eyes showing hesitation.

"We might as well start with the basics," Shana interrupted. Everyone turned to her as she continued. "There are two worlds in existence. There's 'Nigenkai' or the Human World in which you all live in and there is 'Guze,' the Crimson World which cannot be reached by normal means. Within the Crimson World are rinne, which are servants to the higher beings that are known as denizens like the one we encountered today. All together they are classified as Tomogara."

"So that guy was a Crimson Denizen?" Chigusa asked. Shana nodded in response. "But if he's a denizen, how can he show up in this world and why did he decide to leave this Crimson World place?"

"Crimson Denizens are powerful however they lack something special that can only come from this realm," Wilhelmina explained.

"So what are they after?" Kantaro asked looking interested.

"Existence…" Hecate answered with her usual monotone.

"Power of Existence to be exact, tomogara enters this world to take away the existence of humans for their own twisted plans. When that happens, a flame haze can repair the damage that the tomogara has done by turning the humans that were attacked into torches. However, in the end the torch disappears when its flame burns out," Ichiro added.

"They burn out?" Kantaro asked.

"Exactly, just like a normal torch would," Ichiro replied.

"So what exactly does the term 'mystes' mean?" Chigusa asked.

"A mystes is a torch that has a special treasure inside of it," Ichiro explained.

"So that means that he's a torch… what does that mean for Yuji?" Chigusa asked looking directly at her son.

"Well it means… it means that I…" Yuji paused for a moment.

"A torch is a human that has had their existence consumed and are the remains of the human that was attacked," Hecate answered.

"What do you mean?" Chigusa asked looking over at the blue-haired girl with a confused expression on her face.

"What it truly means is that the Sakai Yuji standing in front of you is actually dead," Hecate explained with her usual monotone.

Kantaro looked shocked as Chigusa stood up and walked over to Yuji. She placed her hands on his face. "It's not true, he's standing right in front of me! You're lying!" she shouted at Hecate. She turned back to Yuji, who was looking away from her. "Yuji…?" she asked, sounding worried.

"Unfortunately, she's telling the truth…" a voice interrupted.

"Alastor-san… I know I just heard that voice right now." Chigusa said looking around the room.

"You're right. Alastor is with me right now," Shana replied as she looked down at her pendant.

Chigusa followed the black haired girl's gaze to her pendant. "Alastor-san?" she asked the pendant, sounding unsure of herself.

"Yes, madam," Alastor spoke.

"I can't understand this, how is Alastor-san a pendant?" Chigusa asked.

"I'm not really a pendant. This pendant acts as a manifestation of my subconscious which resides inside of her." Alastor explained. Chigusa looked confused so he continued. "The reason that I'm locked inside of her is because of our contract. This contract of ours allows her to become a flame haze…"

"So she can repair things and make torches?" Kantaro asked, remembering Ichiro's previous statement.

"Not only that, she can use the power from her Crimson Lord to fight against the denizens. All flame hazes have a container that resides inside of their body, like me and Seraphyne." Ichiro pointed at his headband.

"I thought you might be a flame haze as well," Kantaro said.

"Not only me though…" Ichiro replied as he looked over at the pink and blond haired flame hazes.

"You're flame hazes too?" Chigusa asked. Both of them nodded. "So wait, since Yuji can use those powers does that mean that he's also a flame haze?"

"No he's still a torch, but that's what makes him special. He has the Reiji Maigo which gives him the ability to recover his existence every night at midnight." Alastor replied.

"So does that mean…" Chigusa started.

Shana nodded. "That's right, as a result of the Reiji Maigo's power he won't disappear like normal torches," Shana replied with a light smile on her face.

Chigusa sighed with relief. "All of you… you're all fighting this big battle." Chigusa looked over at Yuji. "I guess this explains why you started training with Shana-chan."

"And it's a good thing that he did. Your son is very powerful and a great asset to us. He truly has a talent to create openings and decipher the opponent's tactics," Alastor told her.

"All of this information is so hard to understand now…" Chigusa said as she sat back down.

Yuji sat next to his mom and held her hand. "I understand, there is more for you to learn about, but we'll take things slowly for now, alright?" Yuji asked her. Chigusa nodded and smiled at her son.

- -()- -

Chigusa and Kantaro watched as everyone talked to Yuji outside.

"I think he'll be alright, Chigusa-san," Kantaro told the brown haired woman next to him.

"I think you're right. He truly has good friends he can depend on," Chigusa smiled.

Outside, everyone had left with the exception of Shana, Wilhelmina, Sasaki, Ichiro and Hecate.

"So I guess we'll be heading back now," Shana told him.

"Alright, be careful and thank you, Shana," Yuji replied.

"I already told you, you don't have to thank me," Shana answered back.

"Make sure that you take good care of your mother," Wilhelmina said.

"Protect her…" Tiamat added.

"Alright, I'm going wherever my Shana-chan goes!" Sasaki announced.

"Her Shana-chan…" Hecate repeated, surprise written on the blue-haired girl's face.

"Anyone care to explain what's this is about or should I not ask?" Ichiro looked both confused and interested.

"Mystes…" Sasaki said turning her attention to the brown haired boy. "Don't think I'll allow you to steal my Shana-chan without a fight!" Sasaki added as Shana's felt her face grow warm looking over at Yuji. When he caught her gaze, she quickly looked away.

"Good night, Yuji," Shana said before she started walking away, Wilhelmina and Sasaki following close behind.

"Good night, Shana," Yuji called out after her.

"So how are you feeling Yuji?" Ichiro asked. Yuji looked somewhat confused. "I mean you just had to tell your parents about everything…"

"I know what you mean. I still feel like we could have gone through it without telling her about my existence," Yuji replied with a solemn look on his face.

"It was necessary…" Hecate told him.

"Necessary?" Yuji asked.

"You must prepare yourself for the future," Hecate warned him. "Remember this one fact. You are the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo. That title alone makes you a target. Even though you were lucky this time, there might be a chance that they'll come after your mother again in order to get what they want," Hecate explained.

"Regardless of whether or not they'll be after you because of your power or they want you dead, no matter which way you look at it you have to consider the possible suffering that may be inflicted in the future. Lives can easily be changed within this battle and now that they know you can protect them without holding anything back," Ichiro added.

"I guess you're right…" Yuji replied with a light smile on his face.

"I'll see you later, Yuji," Ichiro said. Hecate bowed to him as a spell insignia appeared under them before they disappeared.

"_It feels like those two have changed somehow… but I guess we'll find out soon enough."_ Yuji thought as he walked inside.

- -(**Seireden**)- -

"So Acheaus has fallen?" Fecor asked.

"I'm not entirely surprised at Acheaus' defeat. What do we do about the other one?" A figure said in a dark corner.

"There's no need to deal with her, she wasn't directly attached to us," the three-eyed Guze Queen replied.

"Either way, his death was necessary for our plans to surface. Even if he did return I would have killed him anyway. His purpose was served…" The figure said in a loathing tone.

"So what do you plan on doing now?" Fecor asked looking over at the figure.

"I plan on taking the next step," The figure replied as he stepped out of the darkness, revealing his white hair regardless of his young appearance and his piercing red eyes. "I plan on fulfilling our deal. I will retrieve the hougu and take care of some unfinished business in the process."

"Have you discovered a way to obtain it?" Bel Peol asked.

"Of course, trust me my lady I don't intend on failing, after all I just so happen to have… gained a little help on such short notice…" Tsubasa replied with a wicked smile as a dark cloak surrounded him, disappearing after his statement.

- -()- -

Yuji yawned as he got out of bed. He looked out of his window seeing the sun out and a few clouds in the sky. A smile appeared in his face as he went to the bathroom and got dressed for school. He headed downstairs to the kitchen where his mother had just placed their breakfast at the table.

"Good morning, Yu-chan," His mother greeted as she embraced him before he sat down at the table.

"Morning mom, dad hasn't gotten up yet?" Yuji asked as he sat down at the table, noticing his dad's absence.

"No, but I'm pretty sure that he'll be up pretty soon," Chigusa told him before Kantaro entered the room a few minutes later.

"Good morning Yuji," Kantaro said as he sat at his place at the table.

"Good morning, father," Yuji finished up his breakfast.

"Off to school already?" Chigusa asked as she watched Yuji put his plate in the sink.

"Yeah I'll see you both later," Yuji told them as he walked towards the front door. He smiled as he felt a familiar presence outside. He opened the door and noticed the black haired flame haze waiting outside. She noticed him walking out of the house and a smile appeared on her face. "Good morning, Shana." Yuji said.

"Yeah… good morning," Shana replied as the wind calmly blew her hair to the side. "Ready to go?" she asked. Yuji nodded and they started on their way to school.

"Yu-chan, Shana-chan!" He heard his mom call out. They turned to her. "Have a good day at school you two and be careful!" Chigusa told them. They smiled and waved at her before they turned around and continued on their way. Chigusa brought her hand to her heart. _"I know that I'm still worried, but I'm not as worried as I thought I would be…"_ Chigusa looked at the black-haired girl walking with Yuji. _"Maybe it's because I know that you'll be with him Shana-chan."_ A smile graced Chigusa's lips before she headed back into the house.

* * *

Alright that's it for this chapter. No cliffhangers this time.

**Happy New Year everyone!** I hope that everyone has a good year!

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!


	16. Within the Shadows

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 16: Within the Shadows_**

They managed to make it to school a little before the bell rang. After sitting through three long classes, it was finally lunch time. A group consisting of Yuji, Shana, Ichiro, Konoe, Kazumi, and Satou met up on the roof.

"Since that guy failed, what do you think is going to happen now?" Satou asked.

"From what we have seen from the Bal Masque's actions from the past, after every failed operation they usually come back with some sort of elaborate plan. If they decide to repeat their actions from the past, we must keep our guard up." Alastor explained knowingly.

"Well at least we still know what their objective is. They're still after the Reiji Maigo, which means protecting Yuji will be top priority." Shana said looking at the brown haired mystes.

"_At least I know this much, whatever plan they're intending on doing Tsubasa's going to be part of it and that's when I make my move."_ Ichiro thought.

Konoe noticed the black haired boy next to her deep in thought. "Ichiro…" she said. He turned to look at her. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, don't worry I'm fine." Ichiro reassured her with a light smile. _"I wish I was telling the truth."_

The door to the roof opened and a teacher walked up to them. "Sakai Yuji?" he asked the brown haired boy.

"Yeah, that's me. Is there something wrong?" Yuji asked.

"You have a phone call in the teacher's office." The man told him. Yuji nodded and followed the man back downstairs.

"A phone call… I wonder who could be calling him now." Kazumi asked herself.

Yuji came back to the roof a few minutes later. "My father called, he said that my mother's about to have the baby." Yuji told them.

"Alright, then you're going right." Ichiro asked him. Yuji nodded and he turned to Konoe. "Konoe, could you teleport Yuji to the hospital where his parents are?" Ichiro asked her.

"Of course I will." Konoe replied.

"Hang on, I'll come along with you." Shana said.

"Same here, I want to be there for Chigusa." Kazumi added as they walked over to Konoe and placed their hands on her shoulder.

Yuji noticed that Ichiro and Satou were staying put. "Aren't you coming too?" he asked him.

"As much as I would jump at the chance to break some rules, it would be too suspicious for all of us to disappear at the same time, just to be safe." Satou replied.

"We'll catch up with you guys later. Konoe, you should stay with them." Ichiro told her.

Konoe nodded as a blue spell insignia appeared under them and they disappeared.

- -(**Misaki Hospital**)- -

They reappeared outside of the hospital and ran inside. Yuji went over to the reception desk.

"Excuse me, where can I find Sakai Chigusa's room?" Yuji asked.

"What is your relation to the patient?" She asked him.

"I'm her son." Yuji quickly replied.

"Alright, she's on the fifth floor, room 505." The receptionist told him.

"Thank you." Yuji replied as he walked over to the three girls. "She's on the fifth floor, let's go." He told them. They took the elevator and arrived on the fifth floor. They ran into a brown haired man, outside the room.

"Father, is she alright?" Yuji asked him.

"She's fine, they're about to begin." Kantaro replied before noticing the three girls next to him. "I'm glad that you three came, Chigusa-san will be very happy to see you."

"Can we see her now?" Shana asked.

"You should be able to, but you'll have to make it quick." Kantaro said as he opened the door.

"Chigusa-san…" Shana, Kazumi, and Konoe said in unison.

They saw the woman laying down on the hospital bed. Amber orbs looked at the occupants in the room.

"Shana-chan, Kazumi-chan, Konoe-chan… I'm glad to see you." Chigusa said with a heartfelt smile on her face.

"You're alright, aren't you?" Konoe asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She told the blue haired girl as she noticed Yuji walk into the room.

"Yu-chan." Chigusa said looking up at her son. Yuji walked up to her and held her hand.

"I'm here, mother…" Yuji told her. Soft smiles appeared on the faces of everyone else on the room as they watched Yuji and Chigusa.

The doctor entered the room. "Excuse me, we have to begin the procedure so we'll have to ask you to step outside of the room for a while." The doctor told them.

"Alright." Yuji replied as he turned back to his mother. "We'll see you soon." Yuji said. Chigusa nodded and watched as they walked out of the room.

- -()- -

A few hours past and Konoe, Shana, and Kazumi were sitting down in the chairs adjacent to the room while Yuji was pacing around impatiently outside of the door.

"You know that it does you no good to be impatient, Yuji." He heard behind him. He turned to see Ichiro, Wilhelmina, Margery, and Satou walking over to them.

"After all, impatience often leads to irrational thinking…" Seraphyne added.

"I was wondering when you would show up, although I wasn't expecting you to bring everyone with you." Shana said.

"Couldn't be helped, after I told everyone they immediately rushed over here. So how is she doing?" Ichiro asked.

"She's been in there for six hours now. We're just waiting for the doctors to tell us when it's over." Konoe replied.

As soon as those words came out of Konoe's mouth, the door of the room opened. The doctor stepped out with a smile on his face.

"We're finished. She has given birth to a healthy baby girl." The doctor told them.

Everyone had a look of relief on their face. Kazumi spoke up first. "Can we see her?" she asked.

"Of course you can." The doctor replied.

"Sakai-kun, you should see her first." Kazumi told the brown haired boy next to her.

"Go on, Yuji." Kantaro told him. Yuji nodded and entered the room. A smile immediately appeared on his face as he saw Chigusa holding a baby girl covered in a blanket. Tired, amber orbs looked up and she motioned him to come over.

"Yu-chan, say hi to your new sister." She said as she looked down at the cute baby girl looking at Yuji.

"It's nice to meet you." Yuji said as he watched her make grabbing motions at him.

"I think that she wants you to hold her." Chigusa told him as she gently handed the baby to him.

Yuji carefully held his new sister in his arms as he saw a flash. He looked over at the door and saw Kantaro with a camera. Shana, Kazumi, Konoe, and Ichiro entered the room smiling as they saw Yuji with his sister.

"Chigusa-san, your baby so cute!" Kazumi said looking at her.

"Thank you." She told her as she looked at the black haired girl looking at Yuji. "Shana-chan, would you like to hold her?" Chigusa asked.

"Could I?" Shana asked her. Chigusa nodded as Yuji carefully placed his sister in Shana arms.

"Alright, now you need to keep your left hand at the back of her head to give her support." Yuji told her as he took her left hand and placed it in place. He backed away watching Shana interact with his sister.

Konoe walked over to Shana and looked down at the baby with an interested look on her face. _"So this is a baby… she seems so fragile…"_ she thought.

Ichiro stood next to Kantaro. "Congratulations, Kantaro-san." He told him.

"Thank you, Ichiro." Kantaro replied.

- -()- -

A few hours later, night had fallen. Margery and Wilhelmina had already gone home.

"Well I have to head home now." Kazumi told them.

"You can't stay any longer?" Konoe asked.

"Not really, my parents are expecting me to get home so I'll have to go now." Kazumi replied.

"I'm heading home, too." Satou said. _"Although I'm pretty sure what I'm going to encounter when I get there."_ He thought as images of a drunken blond flame haze filled his head.

"Hang on, I'll go with you. I was planning on getting some fresh air for a while now." Ichiro told them. He turned to Konoe. "I'll be back in a little while, okay." He told her.

Konoe nodded as she watched them walk away. Her green eyes focused on the black haired boy walking away. _"Ichiro…"_ she thought as a solemn expression appeared on her face.

As they were walking, Ichiro and Kazumi were laughing at a joke that Satou had told them. Ichiro stopped laughing when he noticed a presence had entered the city.

"Something wrong, Ichiro?" Satou asked, immediately noticing the serious expression on the black haired boy's face.

"It looks like someone's here and they're headed straight for us." Ichiro told them.

"You mean a denizen?" Kazumi asked him.

Ichiro nodded as he materialized his nightcape. "You should head home now. I'll take care of him." Ichiro said as he jumped on a rooftop and headed in a different direction.

"Kazumi get out of here, alright." Satou told her as he started running.

"No, wait up!" she called out as she followed him.

Ichiro jumped rooftops as he noticed the denizen changing its direction. _"I thought so, whoever this guy is he's coming after me directly."_ Ichiro thought.

- -(**Misaki Hospital**)- -

Konoe looked at Shana as they noticed the presence of a denizen. They looked at Yuji who looked like he noticed their presence as well.

"It looks like there's a denizen in the city." Shana said.

"Do you think that it's him?" Yuji asked looking serious. Shana nodded. "I'll come with you, then." Yuji said as he walked over to her, but the blue haired girl stood in his way. "Konoe-san…"

"Remember what I've told you Sakai Yuji. We have no idea if they'll come after her, so stay with them. We'll take care of this." Konoe told him before she ran off. _"Tsubasa…"_ she thought as she noticed Ichiro's presence going after it.

"Be careful, Shana." Yuji told her. She nodded and followed after Konoe. She followed Konoe's presence to the roof where she had already transformed into Hecate. A spell insignia appeared under her and Shana quickly ran up to her and grabbed her shoulder, teleporting at the last second.

- -()- -

Ichiro jumped up and looked down noticing a white haired man watching him on a field from the ground. Ichiro landed on the field, a few feet in front of him.

"Tsubasa, I figured as much. I wasn't expecting you to go out of your way to reveal yourself. You just made things a lot easier for me." Ichiro said as he summoned his sword.

"You're going to kill me?" Tsubasa replied laughing. "Here's an alternative way to look at this. You, Ichiro, are going to die right where you stand without laying a finger on me." Tsubasa told him with a wicked smile.

"I'll give you points for creativity, but I don't think so. I'm tired of hearing your voice, so I'll make this quick!" Ichiro said as flames started wrapping around his sword. He was about to take a step forward when he noticed a presence behind him. He turned to see Hecate and Shana a few feet behind him. Hecate summoned her staff, Trigon.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ichiro asked them.

"We felt his presence so we came to help you out." Shana replied.

"This isn't the best time for you to be here. I'm going to release my attack and there's no telling how the destruction will affect the area. You should leave now." Ichiro told them.

Hecate started walking over to him. She looked directly at Tsubasa as she headed over to Ichiro.

"Hecate, what are you doing? I told you to get out of here." Ichiro said as he turned to her. She stopped right in front of him.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Ichiro…" Hecate replied.

"Sorry for what?" Ichiro asked her with a confused expression on his face.

Hecate pointed her staff at him. Ichiro felt something start to rip through his body as he looked down and saw a hole appear. Ichiro screamed out in pain as a glowing, crimson orb came out of Ichiro's body and levitated over to Hecate. Ichiro fell to his knees as he felt Hecate hold his shoulder for a second.

"Shana!" Alastor said. Shana immediately pulled out her sword and charged in towards Hecate. Hecate grabbed the orb and dodged by levitating upwards and Tsubasa fired a black beam of energy that slammed into her, sending her to the ground next to Ichiro.

Tsubasa flew up to Hecate with a wicked smile on his face. "It was more realistic than creative wasn't it Ichiro? I guess I failed to mention the part about me having help within the shadows." Tsubasa said.

"You bastard!" Ichiro shouted out weakly. Sapphire orbs looked at the priestess next to him. _"Hecate…"_ he thought.

"Ichiro! Shana!" Tsubasa heard someone call out. Satou and Kazumi ran over to them.

"Well this is as good an opportunity as it gets." Tsubasa said as a black ball of energy appeared in his hands.

"What are you doing?" Hecate asked him.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Tsubasa replied as the ball of energy grew in size. "I'll literally two kill birds with one stone. I'll destroy Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite and I'll finish off that pathetic excuse of a flame haze!" Tsubasa added before he launched the ball of energy towards them. Hecate looked down at them as the bomb exploded on impact with them. Her hand was faintly glowing blue, clutching her Trigon as she watched the attack cause its damage.

"You weren't planning on trying to nullify my attack were you?" Tsubasa asked as he looked at her with his piercing red eyes. Hecate showed no emotion on her face as she shook her head. The smoke cleared and Tsubasa's wicked smile appeared on his face. "It would seem that Ichiro found a way to escape, well since I have finally got what I've been looking for, let's head back now." Tsubasa told her. Hecate nodded as she started glowing blue and an instant later they were nowhere to be seen.

- -()- -

Satou opened his eyes after a huge flash blinded him and they noticed that they were on the roof of the hospital. He looked at Kazumi kneeling next to Shana who seemed to be alright. He looked at Ichiro, his sapphire orbs showing a distant look in them.

"How the hell did we end up here?" Satou asked himself.

* * *

Alright that's Chapter 16 everyone.

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!


	17. Choosing the Right Path

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

Thanks for the advice **JohnPeacekeeper**!

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 17: Choosing the Right Path_**

"_It's been a few days since Shana told me Hecate betrayed us and went off with Tsubasa. Not much has changed around here… I guess that would mainly be because no one has really bothered to talk about it. Everyone has kept on going like the betrayal never happened… well everyone except Ichiro."_ Yuji thought as he looked up at the black haired flame haze sitting on top of his roof. _"He hasn't come back to school for the past few days and whenever I see him his eyes show the same distant look."_

"Why won't you stop beating yourself up, Ichiro? You weren't even responsible for what happened," Seraphyne scolded.

"I don't know what you're talking about Seraphyne," Ichiro slowly replied.

"You know specifically what I'm talking about. You've been moping around like this ever since that day! Ichiro, you knew when you agreed to allow her to join us that this was a possibility," Seraphyne said.

"Don't you think I already know that?" Ichiro asked, sounding frustrated.

"If you truly realized that, then you wouldn't be acting the way that you are now!" Seraphyne told him, sounding equally as frustrated.

"Whatever…" Ichiro replied, deciding that he was through with this conversation. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard a metallic clang from a ladder leaning against the roof. Yuji climbed up the ladder and walked over to him.

"Sakai Yuji..." Seraphyne said. Ichiro opened his eyes and looked over at the brown-haired mystes.

"Hey, so how are you doing?" Yuji asked him.

"I guess I'm doing alright. So how's things been with your little sister?" Ichiro asked.

"Fumiko's doing alright. My mom's coming home with her today." Yuji replied with an excited look on his face.

"That's what we needed to talk about." the raven-haired boy looked serious.

"Thanks to the new developments with Bal Masque and Hecate defecting, we're going to have to be a lot more cautious. This area won't be safe so for now we'll have to change our location." Seraphyne explained.

"Where are we going to go?" Yuji asked.

"We'll use Hecate's house, it has a lot of room and we'll be able to protect each other at a much more successful rate if we're closer to each other." Seraphyne replied.

"I think we can get mostly everyone to follow along with this, but I doubt Margery will be willing to follow what you're suggesting." Yuji warned him.

"Don't worry. You just leave her to me, she'll cooperate." Ichiro replied.

"How are you so sure?" Yuji asked.

"Just trust me on this one." Ichiro replied with a look of confidence.

"We're going to have to take the utmost amount of caution. Tsubasa now has the Crimson within his possession. With a hougu like that, there's no telling what he'll be able to do."

"Seraphyne, what exactly is the Crimson?" Yuji asked.

"That's a good question... I'll reveal its true nature to you all soon enough, but for now..." Seraphyne started to say.

"Yu-chan?" They heard someone call from below. They looked down to see Kantaro with Chigusa holding Fumiko looking up at them. "What are you doing up there? Come down," Chigusa told him.

"I'll be down in a second," Yuji replied before turning to Ichiro.

"Don't let them know how serious the situation is. Just tell them that it's for safety measures," Ichiro told him. He waved to Chigusa and Kantaro before he jumped off to another roof.

"I thought Ichiro would have at least stayed for lunch," Chigusa said as she watched Yuji climb down the ladder.

"Actually, there's something that we need to talk about…" Yuji told them.

- -(**Shana's house**)- -

Ichiro sat at the dining table across from the Shana and Wilhelmina. The black-haired girl looked surprised after he explained his plan.

"So we're moving over to that house?" Shana asked.

"The move will only be temporary. At least until after we settle things with Bal Masque..." Ichiro responded.

"I see... It does sound like a reasonable plan, indeed," Wilhelmina told him.

"Impressive insight," Tiamat commented.

"It would seem that you have also recovered from the betrayal of the Supreme Throne as well," Wilhelmina added.

Ichiro looked down into the coffee mug in front of him, his face reflected in the brown liquid. He looked back up at the pink-haired woman with a determined expression.

"I had to in order to deal with this new threat. Now that Tsubasa has the Crimson in his possession, I can't sit around doing nothing," Ichiro told her.

Wilhelmina studied his face for a moment and nodded. Ichiro took a sip of the hot beverage and sighed before he turned his attention back to the pink-haired flame haze.

"Carmel-san, does Outlaw have any new information?" Ichiro asked her.

"You mean on the movements of Bal Masque?" Wilhemina asked back. Ichiro nodded. "There were movements going on a few days ago, but now, it seems everything has come to a standstill since Shadow Master returned to Seireiden," she explained.

"It seems strange that their movements would stop so suddenly," Shana said.

"I think that it makes sense. Now that Tsubasa has returned with the hougu, they've started to change tactics. Which means..." Ichiro paused for a moment.

"They'll be planning a more coordinated attack on us soon," Alastor added in his thoughts.

"Then that means... they'll be coming after Yuji this time..." Shana looked down at her pendant.

"Most likely..." Alastor told her. Ichiro noticed the black-haired girl's expression changed to a worried one at the Flame of Heaven's words.

"What about information on a specific person?" Ichiro pressed the pink-haired flame haze for more information.

"That would depend on the person. Are you looking for information on the Supreme Throne or Shadow Master?" Wilhelmina inquired.

"Tsubasa…" Ichiro simply answered.

"No new information other than what we already know..." Wilhelmina handed him a small stack of papers. Ichiro looked through them and sighed. There was nothing in their database that could tell him anything he didn't already know about him.

"We've gotten new information on a few Jeagers and Wanderers, but we've barely been able to find information on Shadow Master. Indeed, it seems that when it comes to Shadow Master, the one that knows the most about him is you," Wilhelmina replied.

Ichiro handed the papers back to her and finished his coffee before he stood up.

"Thank you, Wilhelmina-san. Let me know if you come across anything. I should get going now..." Ichiro said heading to the door.

"Hang on…" He heard behind him. He turned to see Shana walking over to him. "Do you mind if I go with you?" Shana asked him.

"It doesn't matter to me." Ichiro replied.

"I'll see you later, Wilhelmina." Shana told the pink-haired flame haze before she followed Ichiro outside.

* * *

They started walking down the streets of Misaki, mostly in silence until Shana decided to break it.

"How have you been since they extracted that hougu from you?" Shana asked.

"Even though there was a massive amount of pain when they extracted it, I don't really feel any different." Ichiro replied.

"That does make sense, mainly because it seems that the hougu was sealed inside of you, so no other denizens could find it." Alastor said.

"I wish I knew more about it, though..." Ichiro told them as they walked into the park.

"I feel the same way Ichiro. Akane had her reasons for sealing it inside of you, but it would've been better for us if we knew what Tsubasa's planning to use it for," Seraphyne voiced her opinion.

_"Tsubasa..."_ Ichiro thought._ "What the hell happened to you? Back when I was younger, you told me that you opposed the selfish Denizens and Crimson Lords that only wanted power, but was that all just an act to get to the Crimson?"_

"Ichiro, are you alright? You've been quiet for a while now," Shana asked him.

"Nevermind, it's nothing..." Ichiro replied. He noticed a melon bread vendor setting up. "You want some melon bread?" Ichiro asked her.

"Of course, I love melon bread!" Shana quickly answered. Shana sat down on the bench as Ichiro went over to the vendor.

"Hi there how can I help you?" The vendor asked.

"I'll take five, please." Ichiro told him, giving the man money.

"Here you go, thanks for your business." The man said giving him a bag. Ichiro walked back over to her. He reached into the bag and handed her some melon bread before taking one out for himself.

"You like melon bread too?" Shana asked before taking a bite.

"Yeah, although I barely get the chance to eat it as much as I used too." Ichiro replied as he sat down next to her.

"I was wondering… what do you plan on doing when we see her again?" Shana asked.

"See who?" Ichiro asked, looking slightly confused.

"You know who I mean…" Shana replied as she reached into the bag to get another melon-pan. "Hecate…" she added.

"I'll do whatever I have to…" Ichiro answered with a solemn expression on his face as he grabbed another melon-pan.

"We may end up entering a battle against her, when that time comes we must fight." Shana told him as she quickly finished her melon-pan.

"I know, after all it is the responsibility of a flame haze to protect this world from distortion." Ichiro answered as he placed his hand in the bag to grab the last melon-pan. As he raised it out of the bag, he noticed another hand on it. He looked up at the black haired girl. "Shana, you can let go now." Ichiro told her.

"I'm not letting go." Shana firmly answered.

"You know I did buy these." Ichiro reminded her.

"You offered to buy them!" Shana replied.

"That makes no difference!" Ichiro said as he tried to pull the bag away from her but she wouldn't let go. "Shana, I don't want to have to fight you for this."

"Fight me… alright then! Fuzetsu!" Shana shouted. The surroundings immediately turned crimson.

- -()- -

A young, brown haired girl was chasing a dog that was running off. The dog stopped looking at someone approaching in the distance.

"Ekaterina, you really need to stop running off like that." Kazumi said as she kneeled down next to the dog.

Brown orbs looked in the direction that the dog was looking and widened as she saw the approaching figure. The figure's appearance looked like a ten-year old boy although they were much older. He was wearing an orange hoody and black pants He carried a long wrapped up pole tied to his back.

"It's been a while…" The boy told her.

"K-Khamsin…" Kazumi replied with a surprised look on her face.

- -()- -

Ichiro was facedown on the ground as Shana released the Fuzetsu and took a bite of melon bread.

"No one gets between me and my melon bread." Shana told him.

"You entered a fight you couldn't win." Seraphyne said sounding amused. Ichiro slowly got up with a neutral expression on his face. "You do realize that was a pointless fight. You could have just taken fifteen steps to the right and bought some more melon bread."

"I'm not surprised that you don't understand the…" Ichiro started and paused as he noticed the presence in the area.

"Do you sense that Alastor?" Shana asked him.

"Hmm, it's a flame haze." Alastor answered her.

"They're not too far from here. We might as well go greet them." Ichiro said as he ran in the direction that he sensed the flame haze was with Shana close behind him. After running a short distance, they both looked surprised when they noticed Kazumi standing next to the flame haze.

"Ichiro, Shana…" Kazumi called out, noticing them.

"So it's you... Mobilizer of Ceremonial Equipment, Khamsin." Ichiro said as he walked over to them.

"I noticed the other flame haze in the city, but I wasn't expecting that it would be Seraphyne's Flame Haze," Behemoth said.

"It's been far too long, Behemoth," Seraphyne replied.

"So what are you doing in the city?" Shana asked.

"I came back here to do some more tuning, since recently the city has been exposed to a mass amount of power of existence."

"The city does require tuning, but you'll have to hold off on it for a little while," Ichiro told him.

"What do you mean?" Khamsin asked looking confused.

"I'll explain in a little while. Shana, could you take him over to Hecate's house?" Ichiro asked the black haired girl.

"Sure, where are you going?" Shana asked him as he walked away.

"I have to 'convince' someone to come with us…" Ichiro replied.

- -(**Satou's house**)- -

"There's no way in hell I'm moving from here!" The drunken blonde flame haze said before she drank from a long-necked bottle.

"This is a serious situation, Margery. We need you with us!" Ichiro told her.

"What difference does it make whether or not I'm there?" Margery asked.

"We need your expertise." Ichiro replied.

"Sorry, you're not convincing me, kid." Margery told him as she drank from the bottle again.

"Are you serious, you're going to refuse to help them?" Satou asked her.

"_I didn't want to have to do this, but it looks like I have no choice…"_ Ichiro sighed.

"You know it's too bad you won't come over. Hecate just so happened to have an expensive wine collection at her house." Ichiro said as he turned around. The blonde's head perked up at the promise of alcohol. "Well I'm just rambling, later."

"Wait, on second thought you might need me to help you with unrestricted methods and stuff…" Margery quickly replied.

"Please tell me you're joking!" Satou said.

"Unfortunately she's not." Ichiro replied as he threw him a duffel bag. "Load up. We've got a serious battle ahead."

- -()- -

Everyone had gathered over at Hecate's house by the time Ichiro walked in as Satou helped Margery get there, much to his chagrin. Night had fallen and after everyone settled into their rooms, Ichiro walked around the house and noticed that there was a light on in the kitchen.

"_Did I forget to turn that off?"_ Ichiro thought as he walked into the kitchen. He saw Chigusa sitting in the kitchen holding Fumiko and feeding her a bottle.

"Couldn't sleep?" Chigusa asked him.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Ichiro replied. He saw Chigusa motion for him to sit in the seat next to her. He nodded and sat down.

"So, is there something on your mind?" Chigusa asked looking at him with a warm expression.

Ichiro nodded. "It's more like someone actually. This person was someone that I truly trusted but they ended up betraying me. That person was someone I wanted to protect but now she could be considered an enemy."

"Did they ever tell you why they betrayed you?" Chigusa asked.

"They ran off after they did it." Ichiro explained. "I just don't understand why they did this. I never did anything to h-them that would've made them want to."

"Ichiro…" Chigusa started. He looked over at her. "I don't know who this person is, but before you decide to make them your enemy, you have to look inside of yourself and make a decision. You're a smart boy. I know you'll make the right decision."

"Do you really mean that?" Ichiro asked her.

"Of course I do." Chigusa replied smiling as she looked down at her daughter. "Right, Fumi-chan?" She asked her. Fumiko cooed in response.

"Thank you Chigusa-san." Ichiro told her before he left the kitchen.

"You're welcome…" Chigusa replied as she watched him leave.

Ichiro returned to his room and tied the headband on his night table on his head. He materialized his nightcoat and headed downstairs. He quietly opened the door and walked out about halfway in the courtyard…

"So you're leaving…" He heard behind him.

"You guys should go back to sleep." Ichiro replied before he turned around and saw Yuji, Shana, and Khamsin standing at the doorway.

"Why are you doing this?" Yuji asked him.

"I have to. There's no other path I can take." Ichiro replied.

"I don't get this, why can't you just forget her? Ichiro, she betrayed us!" Shana shouted.

"I know that! Damn it! I don't even know why I'm doing this…" Ichiro told her as he looked down.

"Ichiro…" Shana replied, looking like she was starting to understand.

"I won't break my promise. I know that Tsubasa will come here and when he does I will fight him. But I also made another promise, Shana. I promised you that if Hecate betrayed us, that I would take care of it myself..." Ichiro explained.

"We can't stop you from doing this, then?" Yuji asked him.

"You already know the answer to that. Goodbye, for now..." Ichiro replied. He walked away from them and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

"Will he be alright by himself?" Yuji asked.

"That is unknown. At the moment, the move he's planning could very well result in his death." Alastor said.

"That may be so, but even you Alastor should not underestimate that Flame Haze in particular," Behemoth told him.

"How can you be so sure?" Alastor asked in disbelief. Khamsin smiled.

"Ichiro... is the Emissary of Twilight." Khamsin replied.

* * *

This chapter mostly focused on Ichiro, mainly because he was the most affected by Hecate's betrayal. The focus will change back to Yuji and the others in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!


	18. Crimson Shadows

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 18: Crimson Shadows_**

Bel Peol and Fecor watched Tsubasa eyeing the Crimson orb in his hand, feeling the immense power coursing inside of the hougu. He placed the orb in a pouch on his belt and turned to the other two Crimson Lords in the room.

"So your rare hougu is finally in your possession, what exactly does that mean for us?" Bel Peol asked the white-haired crimson lord.

"Don't worry about it. Despite the deceptive tactics that I used to gain the Crimson, we have an alliance and I'm not the type to back out of our agreement. I was planning on returning to Misaki City and destroying them anyway. You will have your Reiji Maigo soon..." Tsubasa told them.

"I'm glad that we understand each other," Bel Peol said as she walked away. "You can depart immediately then. Send Hecate in please…" she added as he turned to leave the room.

Tsubasa walked through the hallway noticing the blue-haired girl wearing the usual outfit she wore when she was with the Bal Masque.

"Priestess…" Tsubasa said. Hecate turned to look at him. "Bel Peol wants to see you." He told her. She nodded and walked past him towards the throne room. "That reminds me, priestess..." She turned back and noticed him walking towards her. Tsubasa slapped her across her face, sending her to the ground. "I'm not an idiot. I know that you had something to do with their survival. This time, I'll be handling this myself and I don't need any more of your interference!" Tsubasa told her before he continued on his way, leaving the priestess on the ground, holding the cheek that had been struck.

- -(**Hecate's house**)- -

Yuji, Shana, and Khamsin had gone back inside and were inside of the living room.

"Emissary of Twilight… Mobilizer of Ceremonial Equipment that's impossible, the feats that the Emissary has accomplished it's just…" Alastor started.

"The fact that he's still just a kid, don't forget Alastor, your container just so happens to be a kid as well." Behemoth interrupted.

"I just can't believe that I didn't notice it before," Alastor sounded surprised.

"Why are you so surprised Alastor?" Yuji asked looking over at Shana.

"Emissary of Twilight is a name that is well known throughout the Crimson World. He has been known for his strategic resourcefulness and mastery of different weapons. The amount of denizens that he has destroyed during his short time as a flame haze even rivals Shana's," Alastor explained.

"That does explain a lot. When I fought him the first time, I actually had to use my full potential against him, he's no pushover," Shana told them.

"Wait so when he came to us that day, he was truly trying to find out who was stronger," Yuji said, picking up on what Alastor was trying to say.

"It definitely seems that way. In fact, he probably still wants to know who is stronger between the two of them," Alastor replied.

"Tell me Khamsin, how long have you known him?" Shana asked.

"Back when he was younger, I would say a little after his master died," Khamsin replied.

"Do you know anything about the Crimson?" Yuji asked him.

"You're talking about the rare hougu that has the appearance of a Crimson orb?" Khamsin asked them. They both nodded. "I only know that it is used at an enhancer, but besides that I don't really know much about it.

"What if it could be used as an enhancer for the abilities of a hougu?" Yuji asked them.

"That's definitely something that we can rule in as a possibility," Alastor replied.

"Whatever Shadow Master wants with it, no good can come from it," Khamsin said as the stood up. "We should retire for now, tomorrow there's no telling what could happen."

Yuji and Shana left the living room and walked upstairs. They reached outside of Shana's door…

"So I'll see you tomorrow morning," Yuji told her.

Shana nodded. "Good night, Yuji." Shana watched him continue on to his room before entering her room and closing the door behind her. She went over to her bed and lay down on it. "Alastor, I was wondering when Ichiro said 'he didn't know why he was going after her' what exactly did he mean by that?" Shana asked.

"Hmm... it seems that the Emissary of Twilight may have a hidden reason for going after her..." Alastor replied.

"I wonder what that reason is," Shana said before she drifted off to sleep.

- -()- -

Yuji yawned as he sat up on his bed. He looked out the window and noticed that the sun was already high in the sky. He heard a knock at his door and went over to it and answered it. He came face to face with the pink-haired flame haze.

"Good morning, Carmel-san," Yuji told her.

"Did you sleep well?" Wilhelmina asked him.

"Yes, thank you for asking. Is Shana awake yet?" Yuji asked.

"No not yet, but I'm surprised that you haven't noticed the presence of a denizen in her room," Wilhelmina told him.

"_How did I miss that?"_ Yuji thought as he walked down the hallway to Shana's room. He turned to the pink-haired flame haze. "You haven't checked inside yet?" Yuji asked her.

"Indeed, I have not," Wilhelmina replied.

Yuji gently turned the doorknob and entered the room. He was greeted with the sight of a sleeping Shana cuddling next to a brown haired girl. A red tint appeared on Yuji's face as he watched her rub her face against Sasaki's chest before she started to wake. She sat up in bed, looking straight ahead and noticing Yuji and Wilhelmina standing in front of her bed.

"Good morning…" Shana said before she yawned. She looked back at them with a confused look. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?" She asked them. She noticed some movement next to her and turned to see the other occupant in her bed. Her entire face turned red as she jumped out of the bed, revealing her nightclothes which consisted of a white sleeveless shirt and white panties.

Emerald orbs opened at the feeling of someone moving off the bed. She sat up and turned to the flame haze that was currently blushing. "Oh, morning my Shana-chan, what's wrong?" Sasaki asked.

"What's wrong… what are you doing in my bed?" Shana shouted.

"I'm surprised that you didn't notice her," Alastor said.

"Well I would have noticed if there was any killing intent. I could easily feel killing intent in my sleep," Shana told him before noticing that the mystes was looking directly at her. Looking down at what she was wearing, her face grew even redder if that was possible.

"Uh… Shana…" Yuji started.

"Shut up, Shut up, Shut up! Get out of here now!" Shana shouted. She turned to the brown haired denizen. "You too, I have to change!" She told her.

"Of course, Shana-chan," Sasaki replied as she stepped out of the bed revealing her nightclothes, which were a black shirt and green shorts. She was halfway to the door…

"Hey Sasaki?" Shana asked stopping her.

"What's up?" Sasaki asked her as she turned around.

Shana felt her cheeks grow warm again. "Y-You… you didn't d-do anything, did you?" Shana stuttered out.

"Whoa, of course I haven't, trust me I wouldn't have done that!" Sasaki quickly answered, waving her arms. "Although…" Sasaki added, her emerald eyes gleaming. "That doesn't mean that I wouldn't have, without your permission, of course," Sasaki told her with a seductive tone as her eyes surveyed her body.

"Alright, get out here!" Shana told her, quickly turning away.

"See you later, Shana-chan." Sasaki said as she cheerfully ran out of the room.

- -()- -

Fecor entered the throne room and walked over to the three-eyed Guze Queen. He kneeled down in front of her respectfully.

"You've returned Fecor?" Bel Peol asked him.

"I have taken care of the next stage, my lady. All we need to do is wait for the right moment..." Fecor answered.

"Understood. Have you seen Hecate?"

"I haven't seen the Priestess for a while now. I remember seeing her outside of the throne room earlier, but besides that I haven't seen her. Is there something wrong?" Fecor asked her.

"I called for her a while ago, but she hasn't shown up and now I can't feel her presence around here," Bel Peol replied.

"The Master Throne has always been a reserved individual. She probably went out to think some things over," Fecor told her.

"Very well then... Hecate is an important part of our plans. With the disappearance of Thousand Change, Sydonay... Hecate, myself and you are the only ones we have left to control Bal Masque. If we are to succeed with our plans, we'll need her full cooperation."

"I see that Shadow Master is absent. Has he already departed?"

"He's headed towards the Reiji Maigo as we speak," Bel Peol replied.

"Do you really think that he'll be capable of taking down all five of those flame hazes by himself?" Fecor asked.

"If the legend of that hougu is true, he should have no problem handling all of them, but if not..." Bel Peol started to say before she smiled.

- -(**Misaki City**)- -

"It's pretty nice that school let out early today," Yuji said.

"Yeah… the weather's nice too," Shana replied.

"Shana, I just want you to know that…" Yuji started, but paused in the middle as he stopped walking.

"Want me to know what?" Shana asked him as she stopped walking and turned to him.

"I want you to know, I have no regrets about entering this world and I'm glad that I get to fight by your side," Yuji told her.

"Yuji…" Shana said with a wide smile. "I'm glad that I get to fight by your side too."

_"But I wonder if we'll always have to fight... Will our lives ever be peaceful or are we destined to remain in this Maelstrom of Warfare?"_ Yuji thought.

"Yuji, hey Yuji..." Shana called out to him. He snapped out of his thoughts and saw the black-haired girl looking at him with a concerned expression. "Is there something wrong? You've been quiet for the past few minutes."

"Huh? I'm fine... Don't look so..." Yuji's expression turned serious. "Shana..."

"I feel it too. A Crimson Lord... and they're quickly approaching. Do you think it's him?" Shana asked him.

"Yeah, there's no doubt about it..." Yuji replied.

The white-haired denizen landed a few feet away from them. Crimson orbs eyed the Flame Haze and Mystes in front of him while he wore a wicked smile on his face.

"Flaming-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter, are you prepared to die today?" Tsubasa asked her.

Shana materialized her nightcape and pulled out her sword as Yuji summoned his Blutsauger.

"That's funny. I was going to ask you the same question," Shana replied. "Fuzetsu!" she added. Their surroundings turned crimson and her hair changed to a fiery red.

Black energy surrounded Tsubasa's right arm turning it into a sword. "I hope you're ready to die!" Tsubasa said as he charged in. Shana charged in at the same time and swung her sword at Tsubasa who managed to easily parry her strikes. Yuji ran in to try and catch him from his unguarded side, but Tsubasa materialized another sword on his left arm allowing him to block Yuji's strike. Tsubasa overpowered both of them and pushed them away, lifting the arm swords in front of him in the shape of an X before it released a black ball of energy towards them.

Yuji and Shana tried to gain their composure as the blast came towards them, but they wouldn't be able to. A purple fireball passed between them and intercepted Tsubasa's attack.

"Margery-san, Carmel-san, Khamsin!" Yuji said as he noticed them enter the area.

"Stand back, kid!" Margery warned him. Margery transformed into a bear-like creature and created hundreds of purple fireballs around her. The fireballs changed into purple energy swords before they were sent towards Tsubasa. They all exploded on impact as they hit Tsubasa, but when the smoke cleared Tsubasa had his arms spread out and a black aura around him that nullified Margery's attack.

"Dammit, that brat's a lot tougher than I gave him credit for," Margery said as she reverted back to her normal form.

"This place is too crowded, let's move somewhere else," Tsubasa told them before he flew off.

"Yuji, grab onto me," Shana told him as she materialized her wings. Yuji nodded and quickly grabbed her before she flew after Tsubasa. Margery carried Khamsin on her book and Wilhelmina flew without anyone's assistance. Tsubasa lead them to a much more open area.

"We'll have to think of a strategy that will quickly take him out," Khamsin told them as they landed.

"Yuji, can you use that attack that we used on Acheaus?" Shana asked the brown haired mystes next to her.

"Yeah I've managed to use it once outside of the battle, but it takes a lot of power to use it," Yuji replied.

"Alright then, so here's the plan, we'll create an opening where we'll temporarily trap Tsubasa in one place and then Yuji will use that attack on him," Shana told everyone.

"I'll go first," Khamsin said as he raised his hand and the ground started shaking. Rocks started to levitate from the ground and form into a rock golem. The golem formed another rock on the pole it was holding and launched it. The rock flew in the air and landed a few feet to the left of Tsubasa.

"Dammit!" Margery shouted.

"All the power in the world won't help out if we don't have the accuracy to go with it," Marcosias added.

Yuji lifted his sword and swung it, releasing silver crescent shaped energy slashes. Tsubasa quickly jumped out of the way of Yuji's attack. Margery transformed again and jumped up towards him, firing a purple fireball. Tsubasa brought his arm sword and slashed through the fireball before slashing his sword across Margery's chest sending her back to the ground, where she safely landed. Thanks to Margery's distraction, Wilhelmina was able to get in Tsubasa's blind spot and use her ribbons to tie him up and throw him to the ground.

Yuji had already started powering up his attack as Tsubasa tried to get out of his bindings. Yuji fired a powerful silver and black beam from his hand towards Tsubasa. Tsubasa surrounded himself with a black aura as he got hit with the attack. The beam sent Tsubasa flying for a while before he regained his composure and got away from the attack before it caused more damage. Tsubasa flew up into the sky as he looked down at the brown haired mystes.

"_So that was the Silver's power. Albeit, it was just a sample it was still powerful enough to wound me, but that won't be a problem soon."_ Tsubasa thought with a wicked smile as he landed in front of them. "Mystes, I'll give you credit, you're the first person to actually cause me pain in a long time." Tsubasa said.

"I can't believe he actually survived that, he's a lot more dangerous than we originally thought," Alastor told them.

"_No wonder Ichiro had so much trouble with this guy…"_ Yuji thought.

"But now, I'll just have to play this seriously," Tsubasa said as he reached into a pouch on his hip and pulled out a crimson orb.

"The Crimson…" Khamsin said looking at it.

"That's right now watch as I show you its power!" Tsubasa replied as he pressed the orb against his chest watching it absorb into him. A crimson aura started swirling around him, his wounds looked like they were already starting to heal.

"Can you feel that? Tsubasa's powers are growing!" Shana said before she turned to Yuji. "Yuji, use that move again!" Shana told him. Yuji nodded and was about to charge the attack when Khamsin grabbed his arm.

"Forget it, the crimson aura around him shows that he's already gaining the powers of that hougu. If you used that attack now, you would only be wasting energy," Khamsin warned him.

"Then what do you expect us to do?" Shana asked, starting to get frustrated.

"We will find a way to defeat him, but if we waste Sakai Yuji's energy on a tactic that won't have any effect, we'll merely put ourselves at a disadvantage," Khamsin replied.

"Time to say goodbye to one of you, now who will it be…" Tsubasa said as he looked at his victims. "Well let's try that out." Tsubasa added as he raised his arm, forming a crimson red sword. He swung it so fast they didn't notice that he released a slash of energy that slammed into Margery, sending her to the ground.

"Margery-san!" Yuji called out as Wilhelmina went to check on her. Yuji turned back to Tsubasa, raising his sword.

"Don't worry about her. She wouldn't have been any help to you either way," Tsubasa told them with a wicked smile on his face.

"We're going to have to be cautious. At the moment his powers are growing even further than normal Crimson Lords and this only seems to be a little of what that hougu can do." Khamsin told them as they got back into fighting position.

- -()- -

Ichiro was walking down a path, a mountain range visible in his sight.

"There is a Crimson Lord over there, but how can you be so sure that it's her?" Seraphyne asked him.

"I have a hunch about this one, don't worry," Ichiro replied.

"So what are you going to do about the denizen that's watching us from the shadows?" Seraphyne asked.

"Just watch…" Ichiro told her as he turned around. "Alright, I know that you've been following me for a while, come out!" Ichiro shouted.

A winged, black Rinne appeared from the sky and landed a few feet from Ichiro.

"A Rinne…" Ichiro calmly said. "Whoever could it belong to?" Ichiro asked in a sarcastic tone.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to go any further…" The Rinne told him.

"Is that right, it's too bad I've never been the type to follow other people's rules," Ichiro replied.

"Then maybe its time that you learned!" The Rinne said as it brandished its claws before flying at a low altitude toward Ichiro. He slashed down, but he hit nothing but air. "Where did he go?" The rinne asked as he landed on the ground and looked to the left and right, before he looked down and noticed a blade at his neck.

"Let me guess, Tsubasa sent you…" He heard behind him. He looked up to see Ichiro looking back at him with a serious expression on his face. "It's too bad that Tsubasa's the only one I want to fight. I wonder where that leaves you."

"Wait… please don't…" The Rinne tried to say, but Ichiro swung his sword and sliced off its head. Ichiro walked away as the Rinne burst into flames.

"_That was too easy… he was probably using it to spy on me,"_ Ichiro thought as he started to climb up the mountain. He found a cave that seemed to lead all the way to the peak of the mountain top. When he got closer to the exit, he noticed there was someone staring out at the edge of the mountain peak. As he exited the cave, he was able to identify the Crimson Lord.

"Why are you here?" the blue haired girl asked with her usual monotone as she turned to him.

"I want to know why you betrayed me back there! I thought that the one thing that you desired was freedom!" Ichiro told her.

"Then you were wrong…" Hecate answered.

"I know that this isn't how you are… you… you would have never betrayed us! So why are you doing this?" Ichiro asked her.

"Because, I'm your enemy!" Hecate told him.

"No you're not! I can see it in your eyes. It's that look of uncertainty, stop telling yourself that you're one of them!" Ichiro said, looking frustrated.

"I'll tell you this for the last time. I am your enemy, regardless of what you feel!" Hecate told him. Ichiro took a step towards her. "Stay away from me, or you give me no choice but to hurt you, now go away!" Hecate said as she summoned her staff, Trigon.

"Whatever you say, I'm not leaving here!" Ichiro replied as he summoned his sword.

"Then this will be where you fall, Ichiro!" Hecate told him with her usual monotone.

- -()- -

Tsubasa clashed against the mystes's sword until he pushed him off and landed a punch straight in his gut sending him sailing through the air before he landed with a thud on the ground.

"YUJI!" Shana called out before she faced Tsubasa. "You're gonna pay for that!" She told him.

"Really, you know I've been waiting for this. I've been wondering how I would compare against the Flaming Haired Blazing Eyed Hunter and now's my chance to find out," Tsubasa told her.

"Is that so?" Shana said as she tossed her sword on the ground. Tsubasa looked surprised as he watched her get into a martial arts stance. "Then you might be in for more than you bargained for!" Shana added with a confident smile on her face.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 18. The battle against Tsubasa will continue on in the next chapter.

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!


	19. Struggle to Survive

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 19: Struggle to Survive_**

"What's going on, why did Shana drop her sword?" Yuji asked the pink haired flame haze next to him.

"The stance that she's taking… indeed she's planning on fighting hand to hand…" Wilhemina replied.

"Wouldn't that be a disadvantage?" Yuji asked.

"Normally, but she can also maneuver around a lot easier this way." Khamsin explained. Yuji still looked a little confused. "Don't worry you'll see it soon."

"Hand to Hand huh? Interesting... Alright, if you'll fight that way so will I!" Tsubasa said as the swords on his arms faded away. "It won't make a difference."

"We'll see about that!" Shana replied as she ran in directing a punch straight at his face. Tsubasa smiled and quickly caught her hand, not noticing that she was using her right leg to sweep him off of his feet. Tsubasa fell to the ground and quickly moved as Shana threw a well-aimed punch at him, hitting the ground instead.

"You'll have to be faster than that!" Tsubasa said as he retreated to the sky. Shana smiled and materialized her wings, flying after him. She tried throwing another punch at him, but Tsubasa easily managed to block it and counter with a kick to Shana's gut causing her to fall back. Tsubasa moved in to add a crippling blow to her face but Shana ducked at the last second and flames surrounded her fists.

"You shouldn't let your guard down!" Shana told him as she slammed a flaming fist into Tsubasa's gut, knocking the wind out of the white haired denizen as he doubled over from the shockwave. Shana continued her assault as she slammed her elbow down on the back of his head before sending her knee straight into his nose and following up with a flaming uppercut. Shana landed on the ground a few feet from him, as he quickly got up.

"You're a lot stronger than I give you credit for…" Tsubasa said as he composed himself. Tsubasa charged in towards her, pulling his fist back. He tried to punch her, but she caught his fist in her hand, pushed up from it and delivered a well aimed kick to his head, causing him to fall back for a moment. Shana used this time to punch Tsubasa repeatedly while he was off balance. Tsubasa retreated back as she was throwing a powerful punch.

"Now I see what you mean. Normally Shana would have to move in a way that her sword would be able to make contact and the moves would be more predictable, but now that she's not using her sword she can move about more freely and do moves that the opponent wouldn't be expecting." Yuji said.

"Looks like you figured it out." Khamsin replied.

"_She's a lot more versatile when she's using hand to hand…"_ Tsubasa thought as a wicked smile appeared on his face. "Alright, now I think it's time that I show you a move of my own, one that I've been working on ever since I became a Crimson Lord." Tsubasa told them as he placed his hands together. A crimson aura appeared around him.

"What is he doing?" Yuji asked.

"That stance looks like…" Khamsin started to say. He saw the shadow under Tsubasa spread into an X shape with him in the middle. "There's no mistake, that's Replication!" Khamsin finished.

"Replication, is that an unrestricted method?" Yuji asked him.

"Yes and it's going to make this battle a lot more difficult for us." Khamsin replied.

A crimson aura appeared on all four sides of Tsubasa and the aura took shape making an exact copy of Tsubasa in each corner.

"Replication is an unrestricted method, unique only to me, the Crimson Shadow!" Tsubasa told them. "These are your last moments, you better make them count!" Tsubasa added as each one of his clones prepared to attack.

- -(**Mountains**)- -

Ichiro charged in towards her, sword ablaze and swung down at the blue haired girl. Hecate quickly held her staff up to block his attack. She pushed him away and flew up high pointing her staff down at him.

"Aster!" Hecate said, calling on her unrestricted method. A barrage of blue energy beams collided into the area that Ichiro was in exploding on impact. She watched as he jumped through the smoke and flew up towards her, intent on taking her down. Ichiro repeatedly swung his sword only to get it blocked by Hecate every time. Ichiro fell back a few feet away from her.

"Why are you holding back?" the blue haired girl asked him.

"Because I know that you don't want to do this." Ichiro replied.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself? I am your enemy." Hecate told him with her usual monotone.

"You can say that all you want, I still trust you Hecate!" Ichiro replied. "_I would like to believe that, but now I have no choice. I promised that if she betrayed us, it would be my responsibility to handle things… even if a part of me doesn't want to."_ Ichiro thought as he raised his sword. He flew in towards her and she pointed her staff at him.

"Aster!" The blue haired girl said once again calling on her unrestricted method. She watched as the barrage of energy beams headed straight for Ichiro. Her facial expression changed to surprise as she noticed that he wasn't trying to evade from her attack, or even put up a defense. She watched as the blue energy beams collided into him, waiting to see his body fall out of the sky, but as the smoke cleared he was standing in the middle of it, only minor scratches on him.

"That's impossible, how did he…?" Hecate paused remembering a recent memory. _"I forgot about that move… so I guess this means he's taking this seriously now."_ Hecate thought. She looked up to see Ichiro flying towards her. She raised her staff to defend as he swung down with his sword, but didn't expect him to slam his fist into her gut. She moved back trying to recover, but managed to hold her staff up to block Ichiro's next strike. Ichiro tried to slash her while she was off balance but she glowed blue for a moment and disappeared causing him to swipe his sword through air.

"_She teleported away… where is she going to reappear?"_ Ichiro thought as he looked around the vast area trying to determine the blue haired priestess's next move. Hecate appeared a few feet in the air above him and pointed her staff at him. Without saying a word she unleashed her unrestricted method at him. Ichiro turned towards the oncoming attack with a smile on his face. When the attack got close enough, Ichiro released a fireball from his hand to intercept the closest beam headed for him, exploding on impact and causing smoke to surround him.

As Hecate watched her attack continue, she quickly noticed that Ichiro wasn't in her attack's path anymore. She turned around and was hit with Ichiro's blazing sword causing her to fall down from the sky, for a while until she was able to regain control, but Ichiro quickly added another powerful slash that she was able to guard but the impact of the slash sent her straight back down on the peak of the mountain. She got up as Ichiro advanced on her, noticing the serious expression on his face. She raised her staff to defend from Ichiro's strikes, soon realizing that he was starting to overcome her. Hecate tried to swing her staff for a counter attack and Ichiro parried her attack, knocking her staff away in the process. Hecate backed up and tripped falling to the ground. As she looked up she noticed Ichiro pointing his sword at her.

"Looks like it's over…" Ichiro told her as he brought his sword up, preparing to strike…

- -()- -

Yuji ran in towards Tsubasa, Wilhelmina following quickly behind him, shaping her ribbons into a drill. Two of Tsubasa's clones ran towards them, and the other two stayed with the original as he faced Shana.

Yuji swung his Blutsauger at the clone he was fighting, the clone quickly creating a sword to block with. Yuji sent power of existence into the blade, showing a blue insignia for a moment before a wave of energy ripped out from the clone's body causing it to fall back. Yuji quickly swung his sword releasing the silver slashes of wind on the clone. The clone jumped out of the attack's way and got back into a fighting position.

Wilhelmina tried to drive her drill like sword into the Tsubasa clone she was fighting, but the clone always managed to get out of the way as she was preparing to make a killing blow. She broke apart her sword and sent hundreds of ribbons at the Tsubasa clone, wrapping them around him and flinging him into the clone that Yuji was fighting.

Shana's fists were still on fire as she countered the attack from the first clone and hit him with an uppercut. The second clone quickly moved in and punched her in her face, but she quickly recovered and slammed her fist into his face sending him away. The first clone tried to come back with another punch and failed as Shana easily kicked him away. She returned her focus on the real Tsubasa and charged in towards him, as she approached him she suddenly stopped for no reason. She looked down and noticed that her legs were inside a dark red pool that appeared on the ground.

"The Crimson has so many advantages, doesn't it?" Tsubasa said.

"What is this?" Shana asked as she struggled to get out of it.

"My shadow of course, it's one of my earlier tricks back when I wasn't nearly as strong as I am now. Normally you would be able to escape it, I have no doubt in my mind that you would be strong enough but this shadow is reinforced with the crimson's power which will make things a lot easier for me." Tsubasa replied as his clones appeared on each side of her a few feet away. All of them charged a crimson red ball of energy appeared in their hands. They fired one by one continuously taking turns attacking her while laughing at her screams of pain.

"SHANA!" Yuji called out as he saw her being attacked. Silver flames burst from his sword as he slashed away the clone he was fighting. He quickly ran towards Shana as he saw Tsubasa lift his hand and a large crimson ball of energy hovered in the air as Shana fell to her knees, losing consciousness.

"Farewell!" Tsubasa said as he launched the attack at her. Yuji jumped into the shadows grip and pulled Shana close to him as the attack hit them, exploding on impact.

- -()- -

"Looks like it's over…" Ichiro said as he looked down at the blue haired girl. He raised his sword up, preparing to swing down. The blue haired girl didn't even flinch as she watched him prepare to kill her. She looked at his face and noticed the hesitation on it.

"Why won't you finish me? I am your enemy, after all." Hecate asked him.

"I hate seeing you like this… I… I don't get why you're lying to yourself…" Ichiro told her.

"I'm not lying." Hecate tried to tell him. Ichiro threw his sword to the ground next to her.

"Alright, if that's how you feel then kill me right now!" Ichiro told her. Hecate's eyes widened as she looked at Ichiro. "But before you do, listen to what I'm saying."

The blue haired girl nodded before listening to him. "Do you not remember these words…? 'You don't have to worry about being alone anymore.'…" He asked her. Hecate's eyes widened as he remembered them as the exact words he told her when she decided to leave the Bal Masque. "I know how it is… we live in a vast world Hecate, but that doesn't mean you have to throw everything on your shoulders. That's why we have friends that can help us. Once, I never trusted anyone. I killed anyone that tried to help me and I loathed the existence of the denizens, I wanted everyone of them dead… but then something happened, I met a denizen that for the first time I thought I could trust, she showed me true kindness and we shared a bond that I thought could have never existed between me and a denizen… I found a person I could truly call my friend!" Ichiro told her as tears ran down his face.

"Ichiro…" Hecate said softly before she continued listening to him.

"Listen to me, you can go ahead kill me right now if that's what you want to do, that doesn't matter to me, but if you feel the same way I do you have to stop lying to yourself. Don't you see that the only thing that you're doing is hurting yourself… and you're hurting me too…" Ichiro added with a solemn expression on his face.

"Ichiro…" Hecate said as she stood up, tears started flowing from her eyes. She ran over to him and buried her face in his chest as she felt Ichiro wrap his arms around her. "I would never hurt you Ichiro… please don't leave me!" Hecate cried out as she sobbed into his chest.

"Hecate…" Ichiro answered. She looked up at him with her tear-stained face. She closed her eyes as she saw his hand move towards her face, but her eyes quickly opened back up when she noticed that he was brushing the tears off of her face. "It's alright. I'll always be with you, no matter what." Ichiro told her. They smiled at each other as they released from their embrace. "Now can you tell me what happened? Why did you join them?" Ichiro asked her.

"Do you remember when we were outside of Misaki City training?" Hecate asked him. Ichiro nodded. "Well…" Hecate started.

_**Flashback**_

_Inside of a cave, near the mountains, Ichiro was on the ground with cuts and bruises all over his body. Hecate placed a clean wet towel on his head._

"_Seraphyne, will Ichiro wake up soon?" The blue haired girl asked her._

"_He probably won't wake until morning… he always has to be so reckless." Seraphyne replied._

"_Why is he like this… is it only because he wants to fight Tsubasa?" Hecate asked, trying to figure it out._

"_That's part of the reason, but Ichiro wants to become stronger so he can protect those that are close to him. And for that, Ichiro will do anything." Seraphyne told her._

"_Those that are close to him…" Hecate repeated before she turned to the cave's entrance. "There's a denizen here…" The blue haired girl said as she stood up._

"_Hecate, don't go out there!" Seraphyne told her._

"_I'll be fine. We can't let them find Ichiro like this anyway." Hecate replied before she ran off._

"_Please be careful Hecate… Ichiro would kill me if I let something happen to you…" Seraphyne said after the blue haired girl left._

_Hecate stepped outside, drops of water pelting onto her and noticed four black denizens around her. She summoned her staff and was about to attack when a voice interrupted her._

"_Now, now there's no need for that, Priestess." A voice said from above. They jumped down from the tree and revealed themselves. The white hair and piercing red eyes was a dead giveaway._

"_What do you want, Shadow Master?" Hecate asked him as she pointed her staff at him._

"_Nothing much, I just want you to help me with something." Tsubasa replied with a wicked smile._

"_I refuse to help you!" Hecate told him as the grip tightened on her Trigon._

"_Hang on you haven't heard my plan yet. You see, I know the hougu I'm looking for is inside of Ichiro." Tsubasa told her. Her eyes widened as she glanced back at the cave for a moment before turning to him. "I assume that he's inside of there, but why won't he come out… unless he wasn't physically able to."_

"_He's figured it out…" Hecate thought as she started to worry._

"_Don't worry. I'm not the type to attack a person when they're down unless I have no choice, so I want you to help me get that hougu out of him. I know that you'll easily be able to accomplish this task, so what do you say?" Tsubasa asked her._

"_I say forget it, Ichiro will defeat you anyway." Hecate replied, sounding confident._

"_Is that right, well then allow me to demonstrate something." Tsubasa said as an aura appeared around him and Hecate felt like she was being pushed to the ground by the amount of power he was releasing. Looking at her stunned look, Tsubasa's wicked smile returned on his face. "I can see it in your expression. You don't think he has a chance at defeating me." Tsubasa added._

"_That's not true!" Hecate told him._

"_How about we make a deal…" Tsubasa told her._

_**Flashback End**_

"A deal…" Ichiro repeated. "What kind of deal?" he asked as he grabbed his sword and put it away.

"In exchange for helping him get the Crimson, he wouldn't attack you anymore. He said that since he would have what he wanted from you, there was no need to bother with you." Hecate explained as she picked up her staff.

"So that explains what the deal was but why did you do it?" Ichiro asked her.

"I didn't want you to get hurt, after Tsubasa showed me his power, if he were to use his full power on you just to get what he wants… That's when I realized that he made it so that he knew I'd have no choice but to do what he wanted." Hecate replied.

"Was this a plan from his side or was the Bal Masque planning on taking you back as well?" Ichiro asked her.

"Bel Peol was surprised at my return, but it looks like they did need me for something. They said something like… 'Hecate is needed for the gate, once that's done with, we can acheive our goals a lot faster.' I don't know what it was, but they were planning on using my powers for something." Hecate told him. She noticed that he hadn't responded to her yet. "You aren't angry with me, are you?" Hecate asked.

"No… I'm not angry at all..." Ichiro replied as he closed his eyes and a blue aura appeared around him.

"_This aura… it's much calmer than Tsubasa's… but there's more."_ Hecate thought as a smile appeared on her face. _"It's amazing... Is that... Ichiro's power?"_ Hecate's eyes widened as she watched him turn to her.

"It looks like I've been letting Tsubasa have too much fun. It's time to head back." Ichiro told her.

"Yeah…" Hecate replied as she stood next to him. "Ichiro…" she added.

"What is it?" Ichiro asked her as he watched her look away from him.

"I just wanted to know if you would forgive me for everything that I put you through. It's alright if you don't want to…" Hecate replied looking down.

"Of course I forgive you, Tsubasa manipulated you, it wasn't your fault." Ichiro told her.

"Thank you…" Hecate replied as she grabbed his hand. She suddenly felt all warm inside for some reason she couldn't understand. "Now let's go!" She added as a blue insignia appeared under them and they disappeared without a trace.

- -()- -

Tsubasa moved up to the sky, watching as the smoke cleared from his attack. A look of disdain appeared on his face as he noticed the mystes unharmed along with the girl in his arms.

"Damn it! They just won't die!" Tsubasa shouted as landed on the ground. "Back to me…" He added. The clones jumped from wherever they were and stood next to him.

"How sad... the great Shadow Master can't even manage to kill a few Flame Haze..." He heard behind him. Tsubasa and his clones turned to see no one behind them.

"What the… there was definitely someone here…" Tsubasa said as he looked around.

"We're over here…" He heard back in the direction of the mystes. He turned to see Ichiro and Hecate standing a few feet behind Yuji.

"Ichiro!" Yuji said as he turned to him with a smile on his face.

"Told you I would be back, I was just hoping it would be on time," Ichiro replied looking at the red haired flame haze in Yuji's arms before turning his attention to the white haired Crimson Lord a few feet away.

"So you're back…" Tsubasa said with a wicked smile.

"That's right, time to finish this..." Ichiro replied.

* * *

Alright that's Chapter 19 everyone!

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!


	20. Against all Odds

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 20: Against all Odds_**

"How is she doing?" Ichiro asked the brown haired mystes in front of him.

"She'll be fine I think… I was able to protect her from Tsubasa's attack so she should wake up soon." Yuji told him before turning to the blue-haired girl. "So you have come back to us." Yuji said. Hecate nodded. "I'm glad. Ichiro wasn't the same without you here, he was completely…"

"Yuji, this isn't the time for that!" Ichiro interrupted the mystes, a noticeable blush on his face. Hecate looked at him and smiled, before she turned back to the girl in the mystes's arms who looked like she was coming to. The red haired flame haze opened her eyes and her face became as red as her hair when she noticed the position she was in.

"Are you okay, Shana?" Yuji asked her. She nodded and noticed the black-haired flame haze as well as the priestess. Yuji gently helped her stand up as she locked eyes with Hecate.

"It looks like your judgment was right Ichiro. That's actually surprising coming from a reckless person like you." Shana told the black-haired boy. "So are you with us for good now?" She asked the blue-haired Guze Queen.

"Of course I am." Hecate replied. She watched as Shana held out her hand to her. She reached out her hand and grabbed her hand shaking it.

"It's great to have you back." Shana told her with a smile on her face.

"Thank you, Shana-san." Hecate replied.

"Hey, what the hell is going on over there?" Tsubasa asked them.

"You'll have your turn in a second, so shut up!" Ichiro told the white haired denizen. He turned to the four around him. "Normally, this is the part where I would say not to get involved with this fight. This has been my battle to fight for a long time, but Tsubasa's power has grown exponentially. I won't be able to stop him alone, I'll need your help." Ichiro told them.

"You know that we'll help you out, just tell us what you need us to do." Yuji replied.

"Tsubasa's relying on Replication again. But they should be easy enough to destroy," Ichiro said.

"You know about that Unrestricted Method?" Shana asked him.

"Of course. Tsubasa has used that Unrestricted Spell in the past," Seraphyne replied.

"Have you had any luck destroying those clones?" Ichiro asked her.

"No, those clones keep on taking damage but they can't be destroyed." Shana replied.

"That doesn't sound right…" Ichiro said as he looked at the clones.

"They can be destroyed. Tsubasa has only reinforced their power with the Crimson to make them stronger," Seraphyne told them.

"What are you talking about, Seraphyne?" Ichiro asked her.

"Normal clones would be destroyed if you hit them with a powerful enough attack but his reinforced Replication clones are much more advanced. They share their power with each other. If you want the clones to be destroyed you'll have to get them together and damage them all at the same time." Seraphyne explained.

"All together… Carmel-san if we bring them close enough do you think that you could capture all of them at the same time?" Ichiro asked the pink haired flame haze.

"Indeed, that shouldn't be a problem. I will handle it," Wilhelmina replied.

"Great I'm counting on you." Ichiro told her before turning to the other three. "Alright each one of us will fight a Tsubasa clone."

"You want us to drive them close enough to each other so that Carmel-san can capture them easily," Yuji said, picking up on his strategy.

"What happens once we capture them?" Hecate asked.

"Then I'll use my unrestricted method to hit them all at once." Ichiro replied.

"Now quick question, what's going to stop Tsubasa from using Replication again?" Shana asked.

"Our efforts would be wasted if he just summons another group of clones," Alastor added.

"If he's smart, he won't risk creating new clones. Replication uses a large amount of Power of Existence to use. Even with the power of that hougu, he would only make things harder on himself." Seraphyne explained.

"Alright are you all ready?" Ichiro asked them. All four of them nodded as they got into fighting stances.

"_Finally! Well at least it'll be entertaining to see how their 'plan' works out."_ Tsubasa thought before turning to his clones. "Finish them off." Tsubasa told them. The Tsubasa clones nodded and all four of them charged in towards them. Two of them jumped into the sky, while the other two stayed on the ground.

"Shana, Hecate, get the two in the sky. Yuji, we'll cover the ground." Ichiro told them.

"Got it!" Shana and Hecate replied as they flew up towards the clones. The clone materialized a sword and swung it down at Shana who caught the blade in between her hands. She pushed the blade away, grabbed the clone's shoulders and drove her knee into its gut. Flames surrounded her fists as she added an uppercut before flying above the clone and driving her fist into its face, sending it on a one way trip to the ground.

Hecate flew around as the clone she was fighting threw crimson balls of energy at her. The clone decided to create a much more powerful ball of energy and threw it towards her. The blue-haired girl summoned her staff, Trigon. She pointed Trigon at the ball of energy.

"Aster!" Hecate said calling on her unrestricted method. A barrage of blue energy beams collided into the energy ball exploding on impact. The energy beams continued on towards the clone. The clone smiled and a crimson aura appeared around it nullifying her attack. The clone lost sight of the priestess and noticing her behind him he turned around to meet a barrage of energy beams that slammed into him sending it into the other clone that was falling out of the sky from Shana's attack. Wilhelmina wasted no time in grabbing both of them in her bindings.

Yuji and Ichiro were back to back as the clones advanced on both of them. The clone on Yuji's side ran towards him with a sword. Yuji swung his sword and released his silver slashes on the clone watching as they sliced into the clone causing it to fall on the ground. Wilhelmina grabbed the fallen clone in the ribbons and watched as Ichiro summoned his sword and charged in towards the oncoming clone. Ichiro sword shot up in flames as it connected with the sword that the clone materialized. The clone's eyes widened in surprise as the black aura sword cracked and dematerialized in front of his eyes. Ichiro slashed his sword across the clone's body and sent it into the air towards Wilhelmina who caught it with her ribbons and brought all of the clones together in the air, as they got closer the ribbons around them melded into one, binding all of them together.

"Alright, now's your chance Ichiro!" Yuji told him. Ichiro lifted his hand and a spell insignia appeared above the Tsubasa clones.

"What move is that?" Tsubasa asked looking up at it.

"Hellfire!" Ichiro replied calling on his unrestricted method. A large fireball dropped down onto the clones enveloping them in a massive explosion of fire. When the attack subsided there wasn't a single trace of them.

"Alright Yuji, cover me!" Ichiro told the mystes as they ran in towards Tsubasa. Tsubasa noticed the approaching Ichiro and materialized his aura sword. When Ichiro got close enough he jumped over Tsubasa, deterring the white haired denizen's view for a second before he looked back down at the mystes who drove his sword into Tsubasa stunning the denizen as Ichiro turned around and drove his sword into Tsubasa's back causing him to fall to his knees.

"They got him!" Shana said looking from above.

"_But is it really over?"_ Hecate thought as she watched Ichiro stand next to Yuji.

"That was a nice strategy." Yuji said.

"If it wasn't for your input it wouldn't have worked out this well." Ichiro told him.

"You really do amuse me Ichiro." Tsubasa said as he stood up like nothing happened to him despite the two swords inside of him.

"What the… How are you standing?" Ichiro asked looking shocked.

"Wounds like this would have killed me, well if I wasn't the Crimson Shadow anyway." Tsubasa replied with a wicked smile.

"_Great he's a lot more powerful than I thought. We'll need some kind of super weapon to defeat him."_ Ichiro thought.

"You two can go away now!" Tsubasa shouted as a pulse of energy sent them flying a few feet back from him.

"Yuji, Ichiro!" the girls called out as they flew down. Ichiro was on his back while Yuji was back on his feet.

"Now, Shadow!" Tsubasa said as Wilhelmina ran over to them. Ichiro stood back up and started running towards Tsubasa.

"Hey what the… I can't move!" Hecate called out. Ichiro turned back to see Yuji, Shana, Hecate, and Wilhelmina were knee deep inside of a dark red pool that appeared on the ground.

"Hang on I'll get you guys out!" Ichiro told them. He took a step towards them but Tsubasa quickly appeared in front of him and grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him up into the air.

"Ichiro!" Hecate called out with a worried expression on her face.

"I can't let you do that. I don't know… it's just not my style to watch someone ruin my plans." Tsubasa told him. "I know exactly why you came here. You want to fight me one on one so badly well I'm going to give you your chance." Tsubasa said as he brought Ichiro's face down to his. "We're going to fight, without any interruptions."

"What do you mean?" Ichiro asked.

"You should be honored. You are going to be the first person I test my Shadow Territory on." Tsubasa said as he lifted his finger up and glided it down revealing a black vortex. Ichiro struggled to get out of his grip but a solid punch to his gut from Tsubasa stopped his attempt immediately. Tsubasa walked into the vortex carrying Ichiro with him.

"We have to follow them." Wilhelmina told them.

"Yeah but how do we get out of this?" Yuji asked.

"Everyone, grab onto each other. I'll try to teleport us out." Hecate told them. Everyone nodded and grabbed each onto each other, Shana holding on to Hecate. The spell insignia appeared on the pool and they vanished reappearing outside of it.

"Alright, time to go after them." Shana said as she ran to the vortex but was bounced away when she tried to enter it.

"Shana, are you alright?" Yuji asked her as he ran over to her along with the others.

"I'm fine, but this vortex won't let me through." Shana replied.

"It looks like Tsubasa used this as a last resort to separate Ichiro from us." Alastor added.

"It's weird though…" Yuji started. Everyone looked at him as he continued. "I feel as if they're right here in front of me even though they're not." Yuji said.

"I wonder if I could pinpoint their location using my Teleportation." Hecate suggested.

"It just might be able to work." Khamsin said as he walked over from taking care of Margery.

Hecate closed her eyes and tried to find exactly where they were. She could see an endless sea of black and two people fighting inside of it. "I think I found them…" Hecate told them as she opened her eyes.

"Great, we'll go with you okay." Shana said as she walked over to her.

"No you're going to stay here." Hecate answered with her usual monotone.

"What do you mean I'm staying here?" Shana asked the blue-haired priestess.

"This is something that I must do alone, besides it might be dangerous." Hecate replied.

"She's right." Khamsin told them. "There's no telling what could happen in his territory. It will be much safer for us out here."

"We'll be waiting for your return." Wilhelmina added.

"Bring Ichiro back okay." Yuji said. Hecate nodded and turned to the red haired flame haze.

"Good luck, Hecate." Shana told her.

"Thank you everyone, I'll be back soon!" Hecate told them with a determined look on her face as a spell insignia appeared under her and she vanished a second later.

"Will they be alright?" Shana asked Yuji. She felt him place a hand on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't be too worried, Shana. They'll be back…" Yuji replied as they looked at the vortex.

- -(**Shadow Territory**)- -

Ichiro dodged the red beam that was headed for him and grabbed the swords Tsubasa pulled out of his body. Tsubasa jumped up and charged a large crimson ball of energy in his hand.

"Nowhere to run Ichiro!" Tsubasa said as he launched the attack at Ichiro.

"I wasn't planning on running…" Ichiro replied as he stayed where he was as the attack approached him. Tsubasa watched it collide with the black haired flame haze, exploding on impact.

"You still underestimate me…" Tsubasa said with a wicked smile. He looked shocked as the smoke cleared and Ichiro stood there unharmed with flames surrounding his body. "This is a unique trick… what is it?" Tsubasa asked him.

"I call it the Veil of Flames, or Fukumen no Enkou." Ichiro replied.

"So you have developed a defensive method, although I can already tell that it's limited. That move takes a constant stream of power to maintain." Tsubasa told him.

"So you figured me out…" Ichiro said as he raised both swords up.

"If you don't mind Ichiro, I'd like to end this soon." Tsubasa replied as he created another ball of energy. He launched it at Ichiro already knowing that he would use his defense to block it. Ichiro used the Veil of Flames to block his attack but didn't notice Tsubasa running through the smoke and wasn't able to guard against Tsubasa's strikes against him. Tsubasa knocked away the swords from Ichiro hands and advanced on him. Ichiro lifted up his arms to block and Tsubasa punched straight into his left arm. Ichiro screamed out in pain as he felt a bone snap in his arm. He fell to the ground as Tsubasa fell back and charged a black beam in his hand. The blue-haired Guze Queen suddenly appeared right in front of Ichiro.

"What… Hecate what are you doing here?" Ichiro asked her as he slowly stood up.

"What do you think, I'm helping you." Hecate answered in her usual monotone.

"Not quite…" Tsubasa said as he quickly launched the beam knocking Ichiro back to the ground.

"Ichiro, no!" Hecate called out as she turned to him but Tsubasa appeared next to her and grabbed her by the neck raising her high.

"Tsubasa let her go, this is between you and me!" Ichiro told him.

"Is the great Ichiro showing his weakness because of a denizen that you normally would want dead? I wonder…why does she matter to you so much Ichiro?" Tsubasa asked the black haired flame haze as he tightened his grip around her neck.

"I told you to let her go!" Ichiro sternly said sounding angry.

"No Ichiro, I'm not going to…" Tsubasa replied as he formed a pulsing clear ball of energy surrounded by a black outline. Tsubasa brought the attack closer to Hecate as Ichiro disappeared from view. He reappeared next to Tsubasa and pushed Hecate out of the way receiving the attack for her. Ichiro felt like he lost all the energy in his body as he fell to the ground.

"Ichiro, are you alright? Ichiro!" Hecate called out as she ran over to him. Tsubasa walked away from him as Hecate knelt down next to him. "Ichiro…" she said looking down at the flame haze. She turned to the white haired denizen that was walking away. "Aren't you going to kill me too?" The blue-haired girl asked him.

"If it wasn't for you, I would have had this power in the first place. So you get to keep your life as a result." Tsubasa told her with his back facing her. "Now I just have to get the Reiji Maigo." Tsubasa added as he continued walking.

"Ichiro…" Hecate said as she knelt down next to his unconscious body. Her hand was shaking as she touched his face, feeling that the warmth it held was starting to fade away. Ichiro's headband began to glow intensely.

"I'm sorry…" Seraphyne said. "It seems that we're starting to lose him. His existence will soon be extinguished."

"There has to be something that we can do." Hecate pleaded with the Guze Queen.

"…There is one thing." Seraphyne replied. "But you may not be willing to do it once I tell you about it." Seraphyne warned her.

"Please, tell me what to do!" the blue-haired girl pleaded as a teardrop landed on the fallen flame haze's face.

"You have the power to synchronize with another. If you synchronize with Ichiro you might be able to save him, but… if you synchronize with him now and he dies you will die with him."

Hecate looked hesitant for a moment, but she nodded. She grabbed onto Ichiro and layed on top of him. She linked their hands together, preparing to Synchronize with the raven-haired boy, but Seraphyne interrupted her.

"Hecate, are you sure about doing this?" Seraphyne had to ask.

"I'm sure. After all, I know Ichiro would try to save me if I was in his position." Hecate said as she used her Synchronization ability.

- -(**Synchronized World**)- -

Hecate walked down a dark path that seemed to lead to nowhere. She called out Ichiro's name but there was no answer. There was a bright flash of light and soon she found blue shackles on her arms and she was bound in the air with no way to escape. She looked a few feet from her and saw a black haired boy bound in the air as well.

"Ichiro!" The blue-haired priestess called out. Her eyes widened as they saw a cloaked figure fly up to Ichiro.

"Awaken, child." The cloaked person said. Sapphire orbs lazily opened to see the cloaked figure in front of him.

"Where… where am I?" Ichiro asked.

"You're currently in the middle of limbo as we speak." The cloaked person replied. "You truly are pathetic. You couldn't even defeat the person so you could avenge your fallen master. You even allowed yourself to join up with a group of people knowing that your greatest enemy could kill them! You should continue on to the other side, everyone will be better off without you!"

"Y-yes… I should…" Ichiro started.

"NO!" Hecate called out. Ichiro's eyes widened as he looked up and saw a blue-haired girl bound nearby.

"_Who is that? She seems so familiar to me…"_ Ichiro thought as he tried to figure out who the girl was.

"You're weak and weak things deserve to die…" The cloak figure told him.

"Weak things… deserve to die…" Ichiro repeated. "I… am… weak…" Ichiro added.

"Ichiro, don't listen to him!" Hecate pleaded.

"I don't know who you are, but you might as well give up on him. He's not coming back!" The cloaked figure said as he turned to the priestess.

"You're wrong… He's going to come back and when I get released from here the first thing I'm going to do is kill you!" Hecate replied coldly.

"Please try not to be so dramatic. I'm going to make sure that he doesn't hear another word you say." The cloaked figure said as he waved a hand across his face and Ichiro's ears disappeared from his body.

"_Everyone… I'm failing you…"_ Hecate thought as tears started rolling down her face.

- -(**Outside**)- -

"Everyone… I'm failing you…" Hecate's voice said out of nowhere.

"Hecate…" Yuji replied.

"Yuji is that you?" Hecate's voice asked.

"Yes we're all here, where are you talking from?" Yuji asked her.

"We're still inside of the shadow territory. Ichiro is… he's about to die!" Hecate replied.

"What… but how?" Shana asked.

"He saved me…" Hecate replied as she started sobbing.

"How can we hear you right now?" Khamsin asked.

"I don't know. I'm synchronized with Ichiro right now… but he can't hear anything I tell him." Hecate replied.

"Then you have to speak to him from your heart…" Shana told her.

"Speak from my heart…" Hecate replied.

"You're connected with him, which means he won't have to hear you physically when he can hear your thoughts as well as ours." Alastor explained.

"Hey gaki…" They heard Margery mumble back where she was, eyes closed and on the ground from her injuries. "You better not lose!"

"_Who is that?"_ Ichiro thought as he pictured a blond woman wearing a purple outfit. "Margery-san…" he said figuring out who it was.

"What are you mumbling over there?" The cloaked figure asked. Thoughts started to flow into Ichiro's head.

"_Ichiro listen to me, you can't give up now!" Yuji told him._

"_You said that you were going to defeat Tsubasa right?" Shana shouted._

"_I'm expecting that the Emissary of Twilight should have no problem defeating him." Alastor added._

"_We have faith in you …" Wilhelmina told him._

"_Finish him…" Tiamat added._

"_We're all behind you, Ichiro." Khamsin said._

"_Now win this battle…" Behemoth added._

"_My friends… I can hear them!"_ Ichiro thought.

"_Ichiro, you promised me that I would never have to worry about being alone anymore. So don't leave me Ichiro, please don't leave me!" Hecate told him. "Come back to me, Ichiro!"_

"Hecate!" Ichiro shouted. "Screw this, my friends are waiting for me to return to them. I refuse to die here!" Ichiro shouted as a golden aura suddenly appeared around him.

"What the hell is this!" The cloaked figure asked as he watched Ichiro break out of the shackles that were holding him. He looked at the cloaked figure. "Does it look like I'm so weak now?" Ichiro asked him.

"Wait, don't kill me!" The cloaked figure pleaded.

"Of course not, after all she wanted to do that." Ichiro said with a smile on his face as he looked up. The cloaked figure looked up and saw Hecate pointing her staff at him.

"Aster!" Hecate said calling on her unrestricted method. A barrage of blue energy beams slammed into the cloaked figure destroying him instantly. They floated to each other simultaneously. "Ichiro!" she said as she linked her hands together with his.

"Hecate… thank you…" Ichiro replied as the golden energy surrounded them. Hecate moaned as she felt his power enter her body.

"_What is... this power? It's... incredible..."_ Hecate thought before it enveloped her.

"Can you feel that?" Yuji asked.

"I feel Ichiro's presence and it's stronger than ever!" Shana replied with a smile on her face.

- -(**Shadow Territory**)- -

Crimson orbs widened as he turned to see Ichiro standing, holding Hecate close to him, both had their eyes closed as a golden aura, violently trashed about the area.

"You're dead! Why the hell are you still alive!" Tsubasa said as he charged a crimson ball of energy in his hand. "GET BACK ON THE GROUND!" Tsubasa shouted as the launched the ball of energy at them. The ball of energy collided with the aura and disintegrated on impact. "Why… WHY WON'T YOU DIE ICHIRO! WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO BATTLE LIKE THIS? HOW COME YOU CAN ENDURE EVERYTHING IN YOUR WAY!" Tsubasa shouted as he continued to fire blasts at Ichiro and Hecate only to have no effect on them.

"You still don't get it do you?" Ichiro asked.

"DON'T GET WHAT!" Tsubasa asked him, looking frustrated.

Ichiro opened his eyes. "You think that because you have that hougu you're all powerful, don't you? Well I have a power that's more powerful than the Crimson!" Ichiro told him.

"THERE'S NOTHING MORE POWERFUL THAN THIS!" Tsubasa told him, a wicked smile appearing on his face. "YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE GOING TO DEFEAT ME WITH THIS NEW POWER OF YOURS!"

"Yes, because this power that I have isn't from some special hougu. It's the power that the people I care about helped me find!" Ichiro replied.

"YOU CAN DIE ALONG WITH YOUR PATHETIC BELIEFS!" Tsubasa said as he jumped into the air materializing his aura sword.

"Hecate, are you ready?" Ichiro asked the blue-haired girl next to him. She nodded and looked at Tsubasa as she summoned her staff, Trigon. She pointed it at Tsubasa watching as a transparent golden energy charged into the top of her staff.

"Aster!" Hecate called out her unrestricted method. A barrage of golden energy beams headed straight for Tsubasa. Tsubasa spread his arms and used his aura shield. Crimson orbs widened in surprise as the attack pierced through his defense and slammed into him. His body was flung in the air from the impact. He looked down and noticed that Ichiro had disappeared from Hecate's side as the attack subsided. He turned in the air to see Ichiro flying at a high speed towards him, holding his sword surrounded with a golden energy enveloped around it. His eyes widened before he closed them as Ichiro sliced Tsubasa into pieces watching them fall and burn up before they hit the ground.

Ichiro nimbly landed on the ground as Hecate ran over to him. _"It didn't have to end this way, Tsubasa… but just like them you made your blindness for power get the better of you."_ Ichiro thought as the picked up the crimson orb from the black embers. He watched as it cracked in his hand and burst into flames before disintegrating completely. "It's for the best anyway…" Ichiro said as he turned to Hecate. He felt a pulse of pain in his arm and was about to fall when Hecate caught him.

"We should get out of here." Hecate told him. The area seemed to start falling apart as they looked around it looked like there was a vortex in front of them. They quickly ran for it jumping out at the last second before the vortex disappeared for good.

- -(**Outside**)- -

Yuji and Shana looked surprised when they saw the vortex shrinking.

"Are they going to make it?" Shana asked. Ichiro and Hecate jumped through the vortex, just as it disappeared for good. "You made it!" Shana said running over to them.

"Just barely…" Ichiro replied. Yuji looked surprised at the golden aura around them.

"It looks like you've become stronger." Yuji told him.

"Tsubasa's energy has disappeared… I guess that you defeated him Ichiro." Khamsin said.

"Not just me." Ichiro replied looking at the blue-haired girl. "We defeated him, together." Ichiro added smiling at her. Hecate felt her face grow warm for some reason as she looked up at him, returning his smile. Shana smiled at them.

"_It seems like the two of them have gotten closer than before…"_ Shana thought. _"I guess a life or death experience will do that to you…"_ Shana thought as she looked at the brown haired mystes.

Ichiro grunted in pain as the aura disappeared. He fell to the ground immediately losing consciousness.

"Ichiro, are you alright?" Hecate said kneeling down next to him. Wilhelmina walked over to him and kneeled down checking his condition.

"His injuries are severe, but he'll be fine…" The pink haired flame haze told Hecate. The priestess sighed in relief as she looked down at him.

"Let's go back to the house." Hecate said as everyone gathered around and a blue insignia appeared under them before they vanished a second later.

* * *

There's Chapter 20. Tsubasa's arc has finally ended.

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!


	21. Plot of the Bal Masque

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 21: Plot of the Bal Masque_**

"_Ichiro…" A voice called out. He opened his eyes to a completely black surrounding area. It was endless as far as he could see. He stood up, wondering where he was._

"_Seraphyne, could you tell me where we are?" Ichiro asked her. There was no answer from the crimson lord. He looked up and noticed that his headband wasn't on him. "This is strange. I must have lost the battle… it looks like I'm dead." Ichiro thought._

"_You're not dead, you're just very close to it."_

"_Alright now I'm confused. Who are you and where am I?" Ichiro asked the voice._

"_I'm insulted… you actually have forgotten my voice." He heard behind him. He turned to see a woman with long brown hair and dark brown eyes standing a few feet from him._

"_M-Master…" Ichiro stuttered out in surprise._

"_I could have sworn the last time we talked I told you to call me Akane." Akane replied with a playful smile on her face._

"_Wait a minute, you just said I wasn't dead so how come I can see you now?" Ichiro asked her._

"_Great, you're still the same, paying attention to every detail. Aren't you at least going to come here and give me a hug, it's been a long time since I've seen you." Akane said opening her arms up as she walked over to him. They wrapped their arms around each other, Akane looking surprised as she pulled back slightly. "You've grown up, I remember back when you only came up to my shoulder, but now we're face to face, although you are a little taller than me."_

"_Akane… I…" Ichiro started to say._

"_Listen Ichiro…" Akane interrupted. "Tell me the truth, did you want revenge on Tsubasa because he killed me or was it because you thought that you were responsible?" Akane asked him. She watched as he looked away from her. "I knew it. Ichiro it wasn't your fault that I died…"_

"_But… if I was a lot stronger. If I became a flame haze before that night you wouldn't have died protecting me…" Ichiro told her._

"_You're an idiot!" Akane replied as she slammed her fist on his head. Ichiro grunted in pain as he backed away from her. "Listen to me right now Ichiro. It wasn't your fault that I died, do you understand?" Akane asked him._

"_Yeah, I understand. Thank you, Akane." Ichiro replied._

"_On another note, I know that you defeated Tsubasa, but I also know that you had help from someone. So who is she Ichiro?" Akane playfully asked him._

"_Well she's uh…" Ichiro said caught off-guard with a blush on his face. He composed himself and continued. "She's someone that I care about… a lot…" Ichiro replied as a smile appeared on his face._

"_I can tell and I think that she cares a lot about you too." Akane told him._

"_How are you so sure about that?" Ichiro asked with a confused look on his face._

"_You'll find out…" Akane replied as she brought him close and embraced him. "I'm proud of you, Ichiro." She told him as she started glowing. "It's time for me to go now."_

"_I'll miss you Akane, sorry to say this but I don't think I'll be seeing you for a long time." Ichiro said sounding confident._

"_That's fine. I would never forgive you if you showed up here, too early. But don't worry I'll always be watching over you Ichiro." She said as she shone brightly, enveloping the area in a bright light before she vanished completely._

The flame haze woke up immediately after his dream holding his head.

"You're finally awake…" Seraphyne said.

"So how long have I been out?" Ichiro asked before looking at a mirror next to him. His eyes widened as he noticed his brown hair. "Never mind, if I'm back in my human form, I must have been out for a while." Ichiro added.

"Exactly…" Seraphyne said. He felt movement next to him and saw the sleeping, blue haired girl leaning from a chair next to him and laying her head down on the bed. "She's been there for the past few days. No one has been able to take her away from your side."

"Is that right?" Ichiro said as he got up from the bed. He felt pain from his left arm as he started walking. "I guess I'm still feeling the effects." Ichiro added.

"Indeed, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem." Seraphyne told him. She noticed him walking towards the door. "Where are you going?" Seraphyne asked.

"Don't worry I'm not going anywhere. I'm just checking outside." Ichiro replied as he continued on.

- -(**Outside the Living Room**)- -

"Good morning Shana-san." Ichiro said.

"Ichiro, you're awake…" Shana trailed off as she noticed his brown hair. "When did you dye your hair, you almost look familiar somehow."

"I forgot about that." Ichiro replied before closing his eyes. A second later his hair color changed back to black.

"So that was your human form?" Shana asked. He nodded. "How come I never see you in your human form often?"

"Usually there's no right time to transform back. Besides I've gotten used to traveling around like this." Ichiro explained.

"I guess that makes sense." Shana said. _"Still he looked so familiar like I have seen him before…"_ Shana thought.

"Shana." Ichiro said interrupting her thoughts. The black haired girl looked up at him. "Is anyone else awake?" Ichiro asked her.

"I'm not sure…" Shana replied. Suddenly they started hearing music from the living room.

_Yume? (daydream)_

_Tada no yume (sweet dreams)_

_Nanoni mune (zutto)_

_Furueteru (zutto)_

They walked into the living room and saw Sasaki watching an anime opening that showed three girls sleeping in the same bed.

_Koi wo shitte (missing)_

_Kuchiburu ga (wishing)_

_Setsunasa ni anata dake wo yonda_

"Strawberry Panic…another Yuri lover…" Ichiro said.

"Huh, what do you mean by Yuri?" Shana asked him.

"I'll get back to you on that one." Ichiro quickly replied.

Sasaki turned and noticed the occupants in the room. "Shana-chan!" Sasaki said as her emerald orbs lit up. "Come here, watch this with me." Sasaki added as she motioned for the black haired girl to sit next to her. Shana nodded and sat down on the couch with her.

"I'll see you guys later." Ichiro told them. _"Shana's definitely gonna have a lot of questions after watching that."_ He headed out to the backyard. _"It still wasn't enough… I'll have to become even stronger and I'll start right now…"_ Ichiro thought as he summoned his sword. _"I may only have good use over my right arm at the moment, but I have ways of getting past that."_

- -(**Kitchen**)- -

Yuji cradled his sister in his arms as his mother walked over to him.

"It looks like she's sleeping now." Chigusa told him.

"I'll take her upstairs." Yuji offered. He stood up and carried his sister upstairs to her room. Kantaro placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He really is taking his responsibility as a brother isn't he." Kantaro said.

"Yeah, but…" Chigusa replied.

"Is there something wrong, Chigusa-san?" Kantaro asked her.

"It would have been nice if he was still here and all of them could be together." Chigusa replied.

"I know how you feel, Chigusa. I know he would be a pretty responsible big brother to both of them…" Kantaro told her.

- -()- -

The blue haired girl woke up, immediately noticing the absence of the black haired flame haze. She noticed his presence and opened the window, walking out to the balcony and looked down to see Ichiro training with his sword. She watched as he fell to his knees and teleported down in front of him.

"Konoe-san?" Ichiro said as he noticed the blue haired girl's presence. The blue haired girl wrapped her arms around him.

"Ichiro are you alright? You're not hurt are you?" Konoe asked him looking concerned.

"Yeah, I'm alright…" Ichiro told her. Konoe helped him back on to his feet.

"You shouldn't be out here training." Konoe said.

"I know but I have to." Ichiro replied.

"Why? Why are you pushing yourself like this?" Konoe asked him.

"It's the only way to get stronger. I feel like we were lucky to make it out alive from Tsubasa. If another denizen appears with more power than Tsubasa had, there's no doubt that I would lose." Ichiro replied.

"But you can't be so sure about that, you have become stronger!" Konoe told him.

"I know that I have, the real question is… will it be enough? And at the moment, the answer to that question is no." Ichiro replied.

"Ichiro…" Konoe softly said as she looked at him.

- -(**Misaki City**)- -

Shana and Sasaki were running an errand for Wilhelmina and getting her supplies from the house. They were on their way back…

"Why did those two… ugh… now I have too many questions. Why did those two girls kiss?" Shana asked the brown haired denizen walking with her.

"Because they like each other silly." Sasaki replied.

"But… two girls… together…" Shana said looking confused.

"This complicates things a lot…" Alastor added.

"Sasaki…" Shana said sounding serious.

"What is it Shana-chan?" Sasaki asked her.

"I feel something coming this way. I need you to go back to the house and tell Yuji to meet me back here." Shana replied.

"Are you sure? You haven't recovered from your injuries yet." Sasaki warned her.

"The sooner that you get Yuji over here the less you'll have to worry about me, now go!" Shana told the brown haired denizen. Sasaki nodded and ran back to the house. Shana looked up at the sky. "Fuzetsu!" Shana shouted. The sky turned crimson. She materialized her nightcoat and pulled out her sword as her hair turned red.

"I wonder if that was the smartest course of action you could take." A woman with three eyes, an eyepatch covering the right eye, wearing a brown dress appeared in front of them.

"She's here." Shana said.

"Judge of Paradoxes, Bel Peol." Alastor added. "Why would you show up now, after Shadow Master's death?" Alastor asked.

"I honestly thought that you were smarter than that. I knew that even with the Crimson, Tsubasa wouldn't be able to defeat all of you. But it doesn't matter because Tsubasa, did one thing right… he managed to severely weaken all of you. And that makes things easier for me." Bel Peol replied as she summoned her chain-like hougu.

"Shana, be careful." Alastor told her.

"I know…" Shana replied as she held her sword up. _"Yuji, please hurry!"_ Shana thought.

- -(**Konoe's House**)- -

"Do you feel that?" Konoe asked him.

"Yeah, do you think that they have come here to get you?" Ichiro asked her.

"I wouldn't be so sure about what they're planning." Konoe replied.

"Yuji!" They heard someone call out. They saw a brown haired girl running into the house.

"Sasaki, what's wrong?" Yuji asked.

"It's Shana. She's battling a powerful denizen right now!" Sasaki replied. "She told me to get you."

Yuji immediately ran out of the house and on to the street heading in the direction of the presence.

"Yuji, hang on I'm going with you!" Ichiro called out as he ran out of the house with Konoe. The surroundings turned crimson and a storm of heavy particles surrounded the area around the house.

"You won't be going anywhere." A middle-aged man in a business suit with bat wings and a tail stood in front of them.

"Turbulent Ungula, Fecor." Seraphyne said. Konoe started glowing blue and when the light died down her hair and eye color changed to a lighter blue and she was wearing her priestess attire.

"You don't really think you can stop both of us, do you?" Ichiro asked him.

"It's not like you'll be able to stop me thanks to my defense." Fecor told them. "And you won't be leaving anytime soon."

"No surprise. You always rely on that defense. Not only are you using Magnesia to protect yourself, you're also using it to separate us from the others." Hecate said with her usual monotone. She summoned her staff, Trigon. "We'll find a way out Fecor."

"I'm ready to see you try, priestess." Fecor replied.

- -()- -

Shana was tied up with Bel Peol's chains and was being squeezed to death, when Yuji arrived.

"SHANA!" Yuji shouted.

"Mystes, you have finally arrived. I have an offer for you. I want you to come with us peacefully and maybe I won't kill your precious girlfriend." Bel Peol told him.

"Y-Yuji… don't…do…it…" Shana spoke with quick gasps of air.

"Be quiet, child!" Bel Peol said as she increased the tightness of the chains.

"Let her go!" Yuji told her.

"I'm not going to, after all what would I gain from that?" Bel Peol asked as she tightened the chains even more causing Shana to scream out louder.

"_Now's the time…"_ Yuji heard in his head.

Hearing Shana's screams, something snapped inside of Yuji and he felt himself being overshadowed as black flames surrounded his body.

"What? Is this the power of the snake?" Bel Peol asked as her eyes widened looking down at the mystes, a whirlwind of black flames surrounded him and she was able to get a clear view. Yuji's hair had turned silver and his eyes were endless pools of black that showed no remorse as he looked up at Bel Peol.

"You made a big mistake, now you'll pay with your life!" Yuji told her in a slightly deeper voice than usual.

* * *

Alright that's Chapter 21 everyone.

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!


	22. Surprising Turn of Events

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 22: Surprising Turn of Events_**

"Has the snake truly awakened?" Bel Peol asked as she looked down at the mystes who transformed in front of her. _"No… it seems that he has been able to grasp some of its power, but the snake isn't free yet. Our seal still holds."_ She thought as she released the red head from her chains before landing in front of the mystes.

"You have the choice to run away. I'll give you ten seconds." Yuji told her.

"Do you think that your power scares me mystes? Don't be a fool." Bel Peol replied as she attacked with her chain.

"I gave you a warning." Yuji said as he summoned Blutsuager. He moved his blade to intercept the oncoming attack and violently swung his sword letting out a wave of silver energy towards her. She quickly jumped out of the way and manipulated the chain around his left arm.

"You think just because you stumbled into that power, you can defeat me!" Bel Peol shouted as she pulled him up into the sky and slammed him down on the ground. The mystes quickly got up surprising the Arbiter of Reverse Reasoning. She quickly whipped her chain around and threw it at him, slamming into his chest, but she failed to knock him down. Yuji quickly grabbed the chain before she was able to pull it away and let loose a stream of sliver flames using it as a conductor towards her. She quickly dropped the chain on the ground, watching as the silver flames surrounded it.

"You should be more careful, wouldn't want to burn yourself, right." Yuji said with a smile on his face.

- -()- -

"Aster!" Hecate said calling on her unrestricted method. The barrage of blue energy beams headed straight for Fecor. He used his unrestricted method Magnesia to block her attack. Hecate looked slightly frustrated as she landed next to Ichiro.

"It looks like Yuji's in a serious battle. We could teleport to get out of here, but you know as well as I do that move would be a costly mistake." Ichiro said. Fecor looked down at the black haired flame haze as he continued. "The moment Hecate teleports us out of here, you'll just destroy everyone in the house behind us. Did I get that part right?"

"You're smarter than you look." Fecor replied.

"Thanks, it's nice to hear a compliment from my enemies once in a while." Ichiro told him. "So let's continue this battle, now." Ichiro added as he summoned his sword.

"We'll have to find a way past that defense." Hecate said with her usual monotone.

"I know and it's not going to be easy. That defense is the most powerful I've ever seen." Ichiro replied as he watched the storm of heavy particles swirl around Fecor.

"We'll think of something, right?" Hecate asked him as she looked over at him.

"Of course we will. We'll just have to keep going until we find a weak spot." Ichiro replied.

- -()- -

The flames vanished from Bel Peol's chain as Yuji let it drop from his hand.

"You can have it back. This battle wouldn't be any fun if you couldn't fight back." Yuji told her.

"Arrogant kid, all you managed to do was catch me off-guard." Bel Peol replied as she picked up her chain. "Things will be a lot more different once I show you an ability of mine."

"I highly doubt it would make a difference." Yuji said as he placed himself in a defensive position.

Shana opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry but she could make out that Bel Peol was fighting a silver haired opponent.

"Who is that?" Shana thought . Her vision cleared up and she noticed the silver haired boy's face. "YUJI!" Shana weakly shouted as she tried to get up, but fell back down because of her injuries.

"Shana, calm down, you mustn't push yourself!" Alastor told her.

"What happened to Yuji?" Shana asked.

"Sakai Yuji has made a transformation using the Snake of the Festival's power." Alastor explained.

"So has he's lost himself to the Snake?" Shana asked looking worried.

"At the moment, his power has greatly increased, but I don't think he's being possessed by the snake. He's only displaying the snake's mannerisms for now." Alastor replied. "Rest for now, Shana. Sakai Yuji will be fine." He reassured her. Shana relaxed back on the ground as she watched the battle.

Yuji charged in towards the three-eyed woman and swung his sword at her. Bel Peol managed to dodge his strikes using her instincts. He swept her off of her feet and tried to run his blade through her, but she managed to quickly roll out of the way, lightly touching Yuji's left leg before getting back on her feet. Yuji moved in to try and catch her off guard, but she sidestepped his attack and touched his right arm. Yuji tried attacking her again twice but both times Bel Peol managed to dodge it and touch Yuji's left arm and right leg before retreating a few feet away from him.

"I have a question for you. Are you deliberately trying to feel me up? I had no idea that you thought that way about me, Arbiter of Reverse Reasoning," Yuji said as a smile appeared on his face.

"Well I've always had a thing for smart boys." Bel Peol replied.

"I've let this go on long enough. It's time to end this..." Yuji said as his sword disappeared and he focused power of existence in his hand. He felt a pulse and the attack started forming. _"This attack feels even stronger than before__…"_ Yuji thought as he pointed his outstretched hand swirling with black flames at Bel Peol. Bel Peol lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. Yuji suddenly felt like he was frozen in space. _"What's going on? I can't… move!"_

"What's wrong mystes? I thought that you were going to attack me. Well if you won't I will!" Bel Peol told him as she threw her chain at him and successfully struck him in his gut. She followed it up by wrapping her chains around him tightly and pulling on them, causing the grip to tighten and Yuji to start screaming in pain.

"YUJI!" Shana shouted as she stood up. She took a step and immediately fell back to the ground.

"Suffer mystes and surrender to my Restriction!" Bel Peol said as she tightened the grip on Yuji. Yuji started blacking out from the pain and reverted back to his human self, succumbing to unconsciousness.

"So that's how she did it." Alastor sounded surprised.

"How come Yuji didn't move out of the way of her attack?" Shana asked. "He's not even fighting back!"

"That's due to the unrestricted method known as Restriction. It isn't as powerful as it seems because it uses the victim's power of existence against them to hold them in a position in which they can't move." Alastor explained. "Due to her fighting style, I should have known that she would use a technique like that. Restriction can only work once the user places trace marks of power on their opponent. All they have to do is touch their opponent in a certain number of areas and allow their power to be the bait."

"And it worked out so well. Now that we have our Reiji Maigo, we can make our way out of here." Bel Peol said with a smile on her face.

"I… won't…let you!" Shana told her as she struggled to stand up.

"Please, Flaming Haired Blazing Eyed Hunter!" Bel Peol replied looking confident. "You barely have the strength to get up. Stay on the ground and make things easier for yourself." Bel Peol added before she looked the surprised expression on Shana's face as she fell to her knees. She noticed a presence behind her and turned to see a cloaked figure standing there.

"I'm sorry Arbiter of Reverse Reasoning. You see, I can't allow you to continue with these plans of yours." The cloaked figure told her.

"And who might you be?" Bel Peol asked. The cloaked figure raised their hand.

"I'm not obligated to tell you that," The cloaked figure replied before they released a pulse of energy at Bel Peol knocking her away from the mystes causing him to fall to the ground, the chains disappearing off of him.

- -()- -

Ichiro flew in the air towards Fecor trying to dodge the oncoming projectiles, but to no avail as backed off from the Crimson Lord. He was about to charge in again when he noticed the presence in the same area as Yuji and Shana. He looked up at Fecor, who seemed to be worried.

"Flame Haze, we'll have to call this battle off for now." Fecor told him. The Magnesia cubes swirled around him at a high velocity before they completely disappeared along with Fecor. Hecate flew over to him.

"Something's wrong. Whoever this denizen is, they're not with the Bal Masque." Hecate said with her usual monotone.

"I agree. Just looking at Fecor's face when he noticed that presence told me everything. Now that Fecor is gone, everyone should be safe. Yuji and Shana however, they might be in danger, let's teleport to them." Ichiro replied. Hecate nodded.

"Ichiro!" He heard from below. He looked to see Sasaki flying up to them. "I'm going with you guys." The brown haired girl said looking serious.

"Alright, just be careful." Ichiro told her. "Hecate, let's go." Ichiro added. A spell insignia appeared under them and they disappeared from the area a moment later.

- -()- -

Bel Peol stood up and summoned her chain-like weapon. She glared at the cloaked figure. _"They don't look like they have a weapon to attack with besides unrestricted methods. If I attack from long distance, then I'll have the advantage."_ Bel Peol thought as she whipped her chain around and threw it at the cloaked figure. _"Perfect aim, I got them!"_ She watched as the cloaked figure stopped her attack with one hand.

"Do I seriously have to defeat you with one hand before you can understand that you can't win?" The cloaked figure asked her. Bel Peol looked at the cloaked figure, angry that she was being mocked by them. She could even see the smile the figure was wearing. "Oh yeah, this belongs to you!" The figure told her as she threw the end of her chain back to Bel Peol with sufficient force only to see a storm of heavy particles blocking her attack as they surrounded the three-eyed Guze Queen. The figure looked up to see a middle-aged man with bat wings and a tail land from the sky next to her.

"What's going on? I thought you said that you would handle the mystes." Fecor said.

"That denizen showed up right when I was about to take the mystes back with me to Seireden." Bel Peol explained.

"No matter who they are they won't be able to defeat us now, thanks to my defense." Fecor told her.

"Turbulent Ungula, Fecor, you picked the wrong time to interfere. I don't like people interfering in my battles!" The cloaked figure said with an angry tone.

"Too bad, when you fight one of us, you fight all of the Bal Masque!" Bel Peol replied.

"Pathetic... I wasn't expecting the great Bel Peol needing help to take out one denizen." The figure said sounding amused. Bel Peol glared at the figure. "Glare all you want, unless it's a new unrestricted method I've never heard of, it won't help you. And as for you, Fecor…" The figure started.

"What do you want?" Fecor asked.

"That unrestricted method Magnesia, it's powerful. I'll give you that much credit. But that won't be a problem. It's not going to stop me." The figure told him as they held up their hand. They released a pulse of energy from their hands. The pulse connected with Magnesia and pushed the cubes straight into Bel Peol and Fecor sending them to the ground.

"That denizen… found a way around my defense…" Fecor said looking shocked. _"They changed the directional flow of my cubes turning my defense against me, it's ingenious…"_ Fecor thought.

"I guess I'll end things now. It could become a problem to keep you guys alive…" The cloaked figure told them.

"We're retreating for now…" Bel Peol told Fecor. He nodded as they stood up slowly. "I don't know who they are but next time they'll regret crossing us!" the three-eyed Guze Queen added before they disappeared.

"Whoever they are, we owe them our lives." Shana said as she sat up.

"Still, there is something strange about this. Don't be so quick to let your guard down." Alastor told her. A spell insignia appeared next to her and Ichiro, Hecate, and Sasaki appeared a moment later.

"Shana-chan, are you alright? Your hurt, I should have gotten back sooner." Sasaki said as she kneeled down next to the red haired flame haze.

"Where did those other two go?" Hecate asked in her usual monotone.

"That denizen over there, forced them to retreat." Shana replied as Sasaki helped her to her feet.

"Who ever they are, they must be powerful." Ichiro said as he looked over at them.

"You're right. Being able to force two members of the Bal Masque to retreat is no easy feat." Seraphyne added.

"Did you say that just because you knew it was going to rhyme?" Ichiro asked her.

"Well I…" Seraphyne started to say.

"Never mind, I know you well enough to already know the answer." Ichiro interrupted.

"You two get along so well." Sasaki joked.

"Let's grab Yuji and get out of here." Shana told them. They nodded and turned to see the cloaked figure holding Yuji by the collar.

"Or maybe not." Ichiro said as he got in a fighting stance.

"What are you doing with Yuji?" Shana asked the figure. "Give him back!"

"I don't know… should I?" The cloaked figure asked.

"Yes, you should. Now hand him over." Hecate replied with her usual monotone.

"Alright I'll hand him over…" The cloaked figure said.

"Then do it already!" Shana angrily told the figure.

"So hostile, you should learn to be more patient. Flame of Heaven, even you should understand what impatience can do to a flame haze." The figure said sounding amused.

"Shana, calm down!" Alastor told her. Shana was reluctant to, but she started to relax.

"Good, now listen up. I'll hand over your mystes if… you give me the Emissary of Twilight…" The cloaked figure told them.

* * *

There's Chapter 22 everyone.

Thanks for reading and please review. Later!


	23. Destroyer of Light

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 23: Destroyer of Light_**

"I'll hand over your mystes, if you give me the Emissary of Twilight." The cloaked figure told them as they held the unconscious mystes by the collar of his shirt.

"Hang on…" Shana started looking confused. "You want Ichiro in exchange for Yuji?" Shana asked the figure.

"That's right, so what is your decision?" The cloaked figure asked them. "Do you want the mystes of the Reiji Maigo back?"

"I don't understand your reasoning." Alastor replied.

"Explain your meaning Flame of Heaven." The cloaked figure said.

"Sakai Yuji is the mystes of the Reiji Maigo, a hougu that has unlimited power. The amounts of things denizens could do with it have made them flock to this city, determined to gain its power." Alastor explained. "You, on the other hand, have decided that you don't want the mystes and want to trade him for a flame haze. From a logical standpoint you're trading away something incredibly valuable, it makes me question your way of thinking."

"It is somewhat confusing why you want Ichiro…" Hecate said.

"I don't want you to take Yuji, but he is the holder of Reiji Maigo. It makes no sense why you would give him up so easily for a flame haze." Shana added.

"Ichiro…" The cloaked figure started. Ichiro looked over at them. "Did you hear what they said? From what I'm hearing, they think that the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo is more valuable than you are." The cloaked figure told him. Shana looked shocked as she turned to the black haired flame haze noticing the dismal expression on his face.

"Ichiro… we didn't mean that… we…" Shana tried to say.

"But you did mean that!" The cloaked figure interrupted.

"We can't comprehend how Ichiro can be as valuable as the mystes." Alastor explained.

"You're a fool. Ichiro has more value than the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo will ever have!" The cloaked figure answered. Ichiro's eyes widened at their answer. "Ichiro, listen to me. Unlike those people around you, I know your true value. I've already been able to reveal what they think of you just by saying I wanted you over Sakai Yuji. There's no reason for you to be with them anymore, come with me now. They can have their precious mystes back and we can take care of the denizens that threaten the world."

"_I can feel that they're right… everything has been about Yuji ever since I've gotten here… maybe it would be better if I left them behind. Tsubasa's been defeated so I have no reason to stay here. I traveled alone before I met them, it wouldn't be so difficult to do that again, only I wouldn't be alone…"_ Ichiro thought.

"That's enough!" Hecate said in an unusually cold tone. "Who are you and why are you after Ichiro?" The blue-haired girl asked.

"I don't see how that concerns you, Supreme Throne Hecate!" The cloaked figure replied. "Why are you even here? I'm pretty sure that you're one of the Trinity of the Bal Masque!"

"I belong to the Bal Masque, no longer!" Hecate answered.

"That doesn't matter to me. It doesn't make you less accountable for your past." The cloaked figure told her. The figure looked over at Ichiro. "Now then Ichiro, what is your decision away from their influence."

The group looked over at Ichiro who looked like he was in deep thought.

"_Is it possible that he's considering going with them? We didn't mean to say things like that, it kind of just came out…"_ Shana thought.

"Ichiro I never really meant that I was…" Hecate started to say but stopped as Ichiro's facial expression turned serious.

"Alright, if you truly want me to go with you, then reveal who you are right now." Ichiro told the cloaked figure.

"Ichiro…" Hecate said sounding worried.

"You want me to reveal my identity?" The cloaked figure asked.

"That's right, I'm somewhat curious." Ichiro replied. "You had the ability to make the Bal Masque retreat just by using your power. Besides that, I should know how you look so I can determine whether or not I can trust you."

"Ichiro, what are you doing?" Seraphyne asked him. "You're not thinking clearly, think about what you're doing!"

"Seraphyne!" Ichiro replied sounding angry. "This is my decision to make now. I won't allow you to control it."

"_I've never heard Ichiro talk like that to anyone…"_ Hecate thought.

"Well, are you going to reveal who you are or not?" Ichiro asked the figure.

"Of course I'll reveal myself, but only because you asked me to Ichiro." The cloaked figure told him. They lifted their arms to the hem of the hood on their hood and brought it down revealing a woman that looked like she was in her early 20's with golden eyes. She brought her hands behind her neck and allowed her long black hair to flow freely with the wind.

"_She's beautiful…"_ Ichiro thought . He felt entranced by the golden orbs that were looking at him warmly.

"Emissary of Twilight, Ichiro my name is Persephone." Persephone told him. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you."

"You wanted to meet me?" Ichiro looked confused. "Is there something that I have that you want?" Ichiro asked with a suspicious look on his face.

"Nothing like that, all I want is for you to join me." Persephone replied.

"I wonder what the Destroyer of Light's true objective must be." Alastor interrupted them.

"So you know who I am…" Persephone said looking over at the pendant. "I wonder if I should be flattered that you know me, or will it make things more troublesome in the end…"

"That's for you to decide, but take this as a warning. You should hand over the mystes after all I don't believe that you're willing to get into a battle with us." Alastor told her.

"Did you not hear what I said to you before?" Persephone asked. "I already told you that I won't have to fight you unless you don't hand over Ichiro to me and from what I've seen already, you should have no problem avoiding a fight."

"Would I be a prisoner or one of your servants?" Ichiro asked her.

"I would never do that to you!" Persephone quickly answered. "You're too valuable to be something like that!"

Ichiro took a step forward towards her. Hecate summoned her staff, Trigon and extended her arm, holding it in front of Ichiro to block his path.

"What are you doing Hecate?" Ichiro asked the priestess.

"I should be asking you the same question." Hecate replied with her usual monotone. "Why are you going with her?" Hecate asked.

"Yuji's the number one priority now." Ichiro replied. "The only way were going to get him back unharmed is if we do what she says. That's why I have to go over there."

"That's not true." Hecate said as she turned to the black haired flame haze. "You're going to her because you believe everything she said about us before. You believe that we care about Yuji more than you, don't you?"

"That doesn't matter now…" Ichiro told her as he tried to step away from her, but she got in his way every time he tried to move away. "Hecate, get out of my way!" Ichiro shouted.

"Not until you answer my question." Hecate told him. "Do you believe what Persephone told you about us?"

"What if I do?" Ichiro asked her. "That doesn't change the fact that Yuji won't be out of danger unless I go with her!"

"Ichiro, you actually believe that we don't care about you?" Shana asked him with a disbelieving look on her face.

"I didn't say that you didn't care about me." Ichiro started. "Maybe it's just the fact that you all don't care about me as much as you care about Sakai Yuji. My work is finished in this city, so things work out better for both of us…"

What happened next surprised everyone. Hecate stepped up to him, brought her hand back and slapped him straight across his face. Ichiro turned back to her, a mixture of anger and surprise written on his face.

"Why did you do that?" Ichiro asked her.

"You're not acting like yourself!" Hecate told him. "The Ichiro I know would have never said that! It's never made a difference to you whoever we cared about and who we cared about more than others so why is it affecting you now?"

"I can answer that one." Persephone replied. They turned to her as she continued. "If I know Ichiro as much as I do, he has wanted to have true importance in someone's life. He grew up with no parents, so he didn't have anyone that truly valued him like a parent would, he was alone. Ichiro has worked hard to earn that importance from you, even almost getting himself killed and to hear that the people you consider as your friend's values another person over you, well I know that I wouldn't be happy after working so hard. Ichiro knows now that if I had him in the mystes's position, you wouldn't have surrendered Sakai Yuji and that is why this affects him so much."

"That's not true, leave him alone!" Hecate told her.

"I haven't done anything to him, unlike you." Persephone replied. "Maybe it's you that should leave him alone!"

"Ichiro…" Hecate started as she stepped a few feet away from him and pointed her staff at Persephone. "You don't think we care about you, but we're going to prove it right now. We're going to get Yuji back and you won't have to go with her!"

"I'm with you Hecate, anything to keep both of you here, because Yuji isn't the only one we worry about." Shana said as she brought out her sword. "You're on our minds as well and I won't allow her to take you away or do anything to Yuji!"

"Besides kid, things won't be the same here without you. I need someone else that has interest in the same genre I watch so we can discuss stuff like that!" Sasaki added.

"Sasaki…" Shana said with a serious tone.

"What I mean to say is you're not expendable to us!" Sasaki told him as all three girls stepped in front of him. "So don't try running off!"

"So all of you are going to fight me?" Persephone asked. "Fine then, if I have to fight for Ichiro, then so be it. I will kill all of you where you stand!" Persephone dropped an unconscious Yuji on the ground and the wind started to blow violently.

"Be careful all of you!" Seraphyne shouted. "She's strong… too strong even for the three of them and Shana's hurt…" Seraphyne said sounding worried. "Ichiro, what are you just standing here for? You have to help them out!"

Ichiro didn't move whatsoever as he watched the three girls get into their battle positions.

"_I'll end this quickly Ichiro, just hang on…"_ Persephone thought.

Shana ran in towards Persephone, sword blazing with flames and swung down at her. Persephone grabbed her blade with her left hand and held out her right hand in front of Shana's face before she released a pulse of energy from her hands knocking Shana back over to the other two.

"Shana-chan!" Sasaki shouted as she ran over and caught the red haired flame haze before she hit the ground. "Are you alright?" Sasaki asked her. Shana nodded and quickly stood back up.

"Aster!" Hecate said calling on her unrestricted method. A barrage of blue energy beams headed straight for Persephone. Persephone jumped out of the way of the attack and headed up to the sky. Hecate flew after her, launching another barrage of blue energy beams from her Trigon, which Persephone managed to easily dodge by maneuvering around in the sky. Shana materialized her wings and flew up to Hecate with Sasaki following close behind her.

"What should I use for this?" Persephone asked. She held out her hand and a curved blade appeared a second later. "This will be fine…" Persephone added as she flew towards them. Shana flew at her and swung her sword causing them to clash against each other, both trying to gain the advantage over the other. Shana tried to gain the advantage with a kick but Persephone quickly blocked it with one of her arms. Shana pushed her away quickly gaining the strength advantage and tried to follow up with a vertical slash but Persephone moved up higher in the air. Shana released a tornado of flames at the black haired denizen.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Persephone told her as Shana's attack approached her. She extended her hand and released a pulse of energy, nullifying the tornado of flames. Shana flew up to her trying a vertical slash and then a horizontal slash, but Persephone easily parried them away, countering with a kick of her own, sending Shana to the ground before she managed to save herself.

"_Persephone…"_ Ichiro thought as he watched Shana fly back up and attempt to hit her. _"I have no idea why you want me to join you…"_ Shana clashed her sword against Persephone's_. "But… it's great to feel valued… to be needed… it feels like no other feeling I've ever felt…"_ Persephone parried Shana's strike and knocked her back to the others with a pulse of energy. _"And yet, they're fighting for me… Shana… Sasaki… Hecate… they don't want me to leave… what should I do?"_ Ichiro asked himself.

"Aster!" Hecate said calling on her unrestricted method. A barrage of energy beams headed for Persephone. Persephone flew around them and headed for them, slicing Sasaki with her curved blade first. She turned to the other two and held her hand out, a purple spell insignia appearing in front of it before a powerful purple beam of light slammed into them and sent them to the ground with a thud. Persephone landed on the ground, a few feet away from them. Golden orbs looked over at Ichiro.

"_It looks like he's still having trouble making a decision. I didn't want to do this but I guess I have no choice…"_ Persephone thought .

"All of them… she took all of them out…" Ichiro said with a stunned look on his face.

"Tell me Ichiro, do you want to become more powerful?" Persephone asked him.

"Why are you asking me a question like that?" Ichiro asked her. "Naturally, any flame haze would like to become more powerful, so we can carry out our mission."

"Unless you're willing to distance yourself from others, you will never truly become strong." Persephone told him. "It's a philosophy that I hold a lot of belief in and thanks to that I became as strong as I am now. You could have this power too, if you wanted."

"You are strong… but do you not have people that you care about?" Ichiro asked her.

"At one time in my life, but things changed…" Persephone replied, a somber expression on her elegant face. Her facial expression changed back to a serious one as she noticed the three girls starting to get up.

"They're alright…" Ichiro said as a light smile appeared on his face.

"They won't be for long!" Persephone replied. She ran towards the brown haired denizen, a purple aura shining around her sword. Persephone swung the sword at her sending a shockwave of energy that sent Sasaki flying back a few feet before she painfully hit the ground.

"Sasaki, no!" Shana shouted. She turned to the black haired denizen and charged in towards her. She swung her sword, trying various types of slashes against her but all of them missed their target. Persephone grabbed Shana by her arm and threw her into the air. She jumped up and grabbed Shana and drove her knee into the red haired girl's gut. Persephone followed up by swinging her sword and releasing the shockwave of energy on Shana, watching as she fell to the ground, without an attempt to save herself from the fall.

"_Only one left…"_ Persephone thought as her golden orbs looked over at the blue-haired priestess.

"Aster!" Hecate said calling out her unrestricted method. She sent a barrage of thicker blue energy beams at Persephone. Persephone flew straight through them, dodging as many beams as she could before she reached the priestess and tried a diagonal slash against her only to see Hecate block it with her staff.

"Not bad, priestess, but let's see you stop this!" Persephone told her as she swung her sword at Hecate, starting with a horizontal slash, then a vertical and two diagonal slashes but Hecate easily managed to parry all of her strikes with her Trigon. "So you're a lot more impressive than I thought. That would make sense after all you are a former member of the Bal Masque." Persephone said. "But this time, I won't miss!" Persephone held out her hand in front of Hecate, hitting her with a pulse of energy that sent the blue-haired Guze Queen to the ground. Persephone's sword started glowing purple as she raised it in the air.

"_She's going to… I have to find a way to block…"_ Hecate thought.

Persephone smiled and swung her sword unleashing a large ball of energy towards her. Hecate brought her staff up to try and dodge. A barrage of blue energy beams shot out and collided with the ball of energy exploding on impact. The energy beams continued on but seemed to be lacking control before they vanished.

The black-haired woman looked down at the ground with a stunned expression. The blue-haired priestess wore a similar expression on her face, mainly because she wasn't the one that used her unrestricted method. She turned to look at the black haired flame haze, noticing that he held his sword in front of him with a blue glow.

"_How did I do that? And more importantly… why?"_ Ichiro thought as he looked down at his blade.

* * *

Alright everyone there's Chapter 23. Now that this chapter's out of the way I have an announcement!

The next Chapter will be the last chapter of Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson. This story has had a great run, but as all stories do they eventually come to an end and this one's no different.

Thank you all for reading and please review. Later!


	24. Enlightenment, the Final Decision

Disclaimer: I do not own Shakugan no Shana. I do, however own this story.

* * *

**_Shakugan no Shana: The Crimson_**

**_Chapter 24: Enlightenment, the Final Decision_**

"Ichiro… you just…" Hecate tried to say but was stunned. Ichiro somehow had performed her unrestricted method, Aster. _"How is this possible, when did he learn how to use it?"_ Hecate thought.

"_So it is true… Ichiro... you're so much like him that it's unmistakable..."_ Persephone thought.

"Are you alright, Hecate?" Ichiro asked the blue-haired Guze Queen sitting on the ground. The Priestess nodded, too surprised to verbally answer.

"Explain Ichiro, why did you save her?" Persephone asked him as she landed.

"No matter what they truly think of me, there is one thing that I know for sure." Ichiro started. "They're my friends, regardless of whatever traits they have they're important to me… Persephone, you told me that you once had people that you cared about, didn't you?" Ichiro asked her.

"Of course, I did…" Persephone replied.

"Well I care about them. It's really flattering that you want me out of all the people in the world to battle with you. Honestly, if things were different I would have gone with you, but I have to be here for them… so I'm sorry... I can't accept… I won't go with you…" Ichiro told her.

"Ichiro… I'm glad you made the right choice…" Seraphyne said.

"I guess there's no helping it. I can't force you to do something you don't want to. Even though, it would have been nice to have you around…" Persephone told him. Her golden orbs looked at him warmly and a smile graced her features. She disappeared from his view and reappeared behind him with her back facing him.

"Ichiro, behind you!" Hecate warned him, noticing the black-haired denizen's presence.

"I know you Ichiro, we'll meet again one day and I hope you'll have a different answer for me. I hope that you don't eventually regret your decision." Persephone glanced back at him._ "Ichiro..." _She said something in a quieter tone, catching his attention. "This war for existence won't be stopping anytime soon. A great hardship lies in your future. You must prepare yourself for what will come… Until then, this is goodbye Ichiro…" Persephone said before she disappeared completely.

"_Goodbye Persephone…"_ Ichiro thought as he noticed her presence vanishing behind him.

"Hey gaki!" Margery said as she landed next to him, along with Satou. "What's going on around here?"

"A powerful denizen showed up here, but now she's gone…" Ichiro told her. "She managed to hurt Shana, Sasaki, and Hecate. Make sure that you take care of them." Ichiro explained, earning a few glances from Margery and the others when he started to walk away.

"Hang on, where are you going?" Margery asked him. She received no reply from the raven-haired boy. His bangs covered his eyes as he walked past Wilhelmina and Khamsin, not even bothering to notice their existence. Wilhelmina went over to Shana and picked her up as Sasaki struggled to stand up but was safely able to get to her feet. Hecate quickly made her way over to the unconscious mystes, kneeling on the ground to check his condition.

"I wonder what was going on with the Emissary of Twilight." Khamsin looked off in the direction that the raven-haired boy had gone.

"Hmm, it looks like for the moment he is dealing with inner turmoil. For now, we should leave him. He has to sort these things out himself." Behemoth replied.

"Alright, it's time to teleport back. I'll be able to treat everyone better at the house." Wilhelmina said, directing her attention to the blue-haired priestess. Hecate nodded and a spell insignia appeared under all of them, before they disappeared a moment later.

- -(**12 hours later**)- -

Yuji opened his eyes noticing that he was on a bed inside of Konoe's mansion. He looked to his right and noticed a black-haired girl looking at him.

"You're finally awake…" Shana said to him.

"What's going on here?" Yuji asked. "I remember I was fighting Bel Peol and they managed to trap me, then everything becomes blank." Yuji added as he sat up.

"That must have been when you lost consciousness." Konoe told him. "I'm glad to see that you're doing better now." She added with a smile on her face.

"I thought I heard talking in here." They heard at the door. They looked to see Chigusa, Kantaro, Wilhelmina, Satou and Khamsin walk into the room. Chigusa immediately ran over to Yuji and hugged him tightly.

"Yu-chan, you had me worried! I thought I was going to lose you…" Chigusa told him.

"Mom, don't worry I'm fine." Yuji blushed a little before he returned his mother's embrace.

"No need to be embarassed Sakai Yuji. You are among friends, after all," Alastor told him.

Yuji laughed in response to Alastor's comment before he looked around the room, noticing someone missing.

"Wait, where's Ichiro?" Yuji asked. "I can't sense his presence nearby."

He immediately noticed the crestfallen look on the blue-haired girl's face when he said his name.

"Did something happen?" Yuji asked.

"It's kind of complicated…" Shana started. She told Yuji the whole story about what happened during the time he was unconscious and the encounter with the Destroyer of Light, Persephone.

"So she wanted Ichiro?" Yuji asked. "So if she didn't get him or me, what is the real problem here?"

"Persephone set things up so that we would unknowingly say that we valued you over the Emissary of Twilight and she used that to her advantage. And due to this, it has made Ichiro question whether or not he should leave the city…" Alastor explained.

"Does anyone know where he is now?" Yuji asked.

Konoe shook her head. "Ever since the battle, he has to some extent kept his distance from us," she explained. "He usually leaves early in the morning and returns pretty late at night, but he still remains in Misaki City."

"It's difficult to determine what the Emissary of Twilight will do next after the events of that last battle..." Wilhelmina looked out the window.

"Hard to read..." Tiamat added.

"Maybe I should talk to him," Yuji said.

"That isn't the wisest course of action," Khamsin replied. "The conflict that he's dealing with right now indirectly involves you. It's possible that things could become worse for him if you talk to him too soon."

"Then, what exactly are we supposed to do?" Shana asked. "He'll continue being distant like this unless we try something."

"I'll talk to him." Khamsin replied. "I've known him the longest and I'm an uninvolved person in his conflict."

"We shall talk to him when he returns." Behemoth added.

- -()- -

After they left the room, Shana noticed Konoe looking through a window in the middle of the hallway. She walked over to her curious of what she was thinking.

"Konoe…" Shana started. "Is there something wrong?" She asked the blue-haired girl.

"Yes…" Konoe simply answered.

"Is it about Ichiro?" Shana asked her.

"It is, but there's something different about this time." Konoe replied as she turned to Shana.

"Something different…" Shana repeated. "What's so different?"

"With the way he's been acting recently, I feel… disappointed at him…" Konoe replied.

- -()- -

Ichiro felt the wind calmly blow against his face as he walked through the outskirts of Misaki City. He entered the shopping district, noticing the people around him. Children were holding hands with their mothers and were playing around with each other, they seemed happy and it brought a smile to Ichiro's face.

"_It's nice seeing people enjoying themselves, normal humans unaware of the war that wages on right in front of them and yet it isn't visible to their eyes."_ Ichiro thought. _"I wonder if could find what I'm looking for around here…"_ His eyes scanned through the area before they landed on a familiar brown-haired girl walking towards him. The girl noticed him and waved, looking cheerful as she approached him.

"Ichiro-san, I didn't expect to see you out here." Kazumi told him. "How have you been?"

"Oh... I'm alright, thank you for asking." Ichiro replied.

"So I'm guessing that you're out here doing some shopping too, right?" Kazumi asked him.

"I'm looking for some new clothes." Ichiro noticed the bag in her hand. "So did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yeah, I was able to find some wooden slippers for tonight." Kazumi replied.

"Tonight, is there something special going on?" Ichiro looked a little confused.

"Yeah, tonight's the Misaki Festival." Kazumi told him.

"Misaki Festival?"

"That's right. It's a festival that happens around the summertime." Kazumi explained. "It's a lot of fun. If you have the time, you should buy a kimono if you don't already have one and go there tonight." Kazumi suggested. "I'll see you later." Kazumi waved to him and she ran off.

"A festival…" Ichiro said as he watched her run off.

"That sounds like a nice idea." Seraphyne started. "A festival would be the perfect atmosphere for you to be in. With all of the excitement and…"

"I already understand where you're going with this…" Ichiro interrupted.

"All I'm saying is that it would be nice to get your mind off of things. Being gloomy like this isn't going to help you in any way." Seraphyne told him.

"You may be right…" Ichiro replied before he continued his search.

- -(**Konoe's house**)- -

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Chigusa asked, dressed in a green yukata.

Shana was dressed in a red yukata with a golden leaf pattern on it. Konoe was wearing a white yukata with blue flowers on it. Chigusa had a brown yukata with beige flowers on it. Kantaro was standing next to Chigusa, holding Fumiko. Yuji walked into the room wearing a plain blue kimono. He noticed the three girls and looked amazed at their appearance.

"Well what do you think Yu-chan?" Chigusa asked as she directed her arms towards the two girls in front of him. "Don't you think they look cute?"

"Of course, you both look very cute." Yuji replied.

"Shut up, Shut up, Shut up!" Shana said as her face turned as red as her yukata.

"Thank you…" Konoe added with a light blush on her face.

"Are you sure that you can handle Fumiko for the night?" Chigusa asked her husband.

"I'm sure Chigusa-san, you all go have fun." Kantaro replied.

"Thank you…" Chigusa told him. She turned to the brown-haired girl leaning against the wall. "Aren't you coming with us, Sasaki-chan?"

"No... I think I'll just take it easy and stay here," Sasaki replied.

"That's surprising coming from you. Lately, you've been difficult to find just like Ichiro." Shana looked concerned.

"You're worried about me?" Sasaki's eyes sparkled. She hugged Shana tightly and started gushing over her. "Don't worry Shana-chan! We can hang out together when you get back, just you and me..."

"Okay I get it, just let go of me!" Shana told her. Sasaki released her, but still wore a satisfied smile on her face.

"What about you Satou?" Yuji asked him.

"I'll be around a little later." Satou replied. He looked down at the blond-haired woman sleeping on the couch. "And if she ever wakes up, I'll bring her with me."

"Alright then, we'll see you later." Yuji told them as they left the house and headed over to the festival.

- -(**1 hour later**)- -

"It's starting to get dark out…" Ichiro walked through the doors to Konoe's mansion. He headed up the stairs to his room, his keen sense picking up a presence behind his door. He opened it, revealing the middle-eastern flame haze standing next to his window.

"So you've returned…" Khamsin turned to him.

"Khamsin-san, is there any particular reason that you're in my room?" Ichiro asked him.

"Actually, there is. Sit down." Khamsin motioned to the bed. Ichiro sat on the bed, watching as Khamsin looked over at him. "Now then, tell me there's something troubling you isn't there?"

"I guess you could say that…" Ichiro replied. "It's complicated though…"

"Explain it to me," Khamsin said.

"Khamsin-san…" Ichiro started. "Tell me, I haven't really changed since the last time that we met, have I?" Ichiro wore a serious expression on his face.

Khamsin looked confused. "What exactly are you getting at?" Khamsin asked him.

"What I'm getting at is the fact that I'm still really just the same. Back when we met, I was just a kid that wanted to be strong and stop the threat of the denizens…" Ichiro replied. "And just like a kid, I've let greed get the best of me. I guess I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I know that Yuji's an important person to Shana… and to Konoe as well… in fact Konoe may eventually grow to like him…"

"I think I'm starting to see where you're coming from." Khamsin told him.

"But now I realize that I can't control the way people feel. Only selfish people try to change people's emotions. I won't allow myself to end up that way," Ichiro replied.

"What are you planning to do?" Khamsin asked.

"I don't know... For now, I'm doing the only thing that I can…" Ichiro started. "Live… I made a promise to Akane after all. More importantly, I've learned that I'll have to grow up and know that there will be things in this world that I won't be able to have… but it is facing these facts and overcoming them that will help me grow stronger."

Ichiro walked through the door to the room, raising his hand as a sign of goodbye, leaving Khamsin behind.

- -()- -

Ichiro headed over to Misaki Festival, walking through the crowds. He could detect them nearby, he was certain of it.

"Excuse me, sir." He heard next to him. He looked at the stand and saw a bunch of apples on sticks. "We're selling candy apples, they're very delicious. Would you like to buy one?" The woman asked him.

"Sure, why not." Ichiro handed the woman some money and took a candy apple. "Thank you…" Ichiro said. He turned and his eyes widened as he noticed the group a few feet away. Shana was talking with Chigusa. Konoe was clinging onto Yuji's sleeve as she talked with him. He watched as Yuji looked confused and leaned his head down. Konoe lightly pecked him on his cheek, much to Shana's annoyance. Ichiro closed his eyes and smiled before turning away and walking off in the opposite direction.

Konoe looked surprised as she looked around like she was searching for something.

"Something wrong Konoe-san?" Yuji asked her.

"I just could have sworn that I felt Ichiro's presence nearby, but now it's pretty far away." Konoe replied.

"He isn't too far away. We could try to go find him." Shana suggested.

"Are you planning on going somewhere?" Chigusa asked as she walked over to them.

"Yeah, we're going to check something out. You guys can go home ahead of us, we'll catch up." Yuji replied before they ran off.

- -(**Konoe's house**)- -

"Margery-san…" Satou started. "Aren't we going to the festival?" He asked her. Margery was taking out an expensive looking bottle of wine when she looked over at him.

"No way in hell!" Margery replied. "That brat promised me all the expensive wine I could drink and damn it if I'm not going to drink!"

"I honestly wonder how you were, when you were my age," Satou said, watching her empty the contents of her glass.

"Oh come on, here…" Margery told him as she poured some wine in another glass. "You want some?" Margery asked showing him the other glass.

"I don't see why you're offering it to me, but fine I'll take it," Satou replied as he reached for the glass only to see Margery swipe it away from him.

"Uh, uh, Keisaku you're not old enough yet." Margery teased.

"That was a dirty trick!" Satou turned away from her. He glanced over his shoulder at the blond-haired woman, taking another sip of the burgundy wine before she leaned back and relaxed on the couch. He didn't understand why, but a smile appeared on the young man's face. Some things never changed...

- -()- -

Ichiro was sitting on a hill that had a great view of the sky. He took a bite out of the candy apple feeling a rush of sugar enter his mouth.

"This is very sweet!" Ichiro said looking down at it.

"Well what did you expect? It's a candy apple!" Seraphyne replied sounding amused. She started laughing, but stopped when she noticed that Ichiro seemed serious. "Ichiro, when you turned away back there…" Seraphyne started to say.

"Did you not hear my moving speech back at the house?" Ichiro asked her. "I told you that I wouldn't interfere with any of that… Remember when I brought her to the city? I gave her the promise that she would be free to make any of her decisions and this situation's no different." Ichiro told her.

"Is that truly what you want?" Seraphyne asked him.

"Who knows?" Ichiro replied as he lay down on the grass. He looked up at the night sky, his mind wandering as he remembered the things the stunning, black-haired denizen had said.

"_You're a fool. Ichiro has more value than the Mystes of the Reiji Maigo will ever have!"_

"_Unlike those people around you, I know your true value."_

"_Emissary of Twilight, Ichiro. My name is Persephone. I've been waiting a long time to meet you."_

"_So all of you are going to fight me? Fine then, if I have to fight for Ichiro, then so be it. I will kill all of you where you stand!"_

_"A great hardship lies in your future. You must prepare yourself for what will come..."_

"What did she mean by that? I wonder... What should I do now?" Ichiro muttered to himself.

"What was that Ichiro?" Seraphyne asked him.

"Nothing Seraphyne…" Ichiro told her. He noticed someone's presence behind him. Looking up, he noticed the blue-haired girl walking towards him. "Konoe-san…" Ichiro said as he sat up.

"You've kept your distance from us long enough." Konoe told him firmly. She looked surprised when Ichiro smiled.

"That doesn't matter to me anymore." Ichiro told her. "I've done a lot of thinking and I've decided that I would grow up and deal with it. That's how I'll handle my situations now." Ichiro said as he stood up. "I'm sorry about the way I've acted, because of it I've pretty much changed your perspective of me haven't I?"

"Well, you're right… it has…" Konoe replied. _"I honestly don't think that things will be the same between us anymore…"_ Konoe thought. Ichiro ruffled her hair before noticing the other two.

"_You're free to make your own decisions…even if that decision is who you want to be with… Konoe-san."_ Ichiro thought as they walked over to them.

"Ichiro…" Yuji started to say.

"Yuji-san, you're a person that truly has luck on your side. You should cherish it, who knows the things that make you lucky could be the people that are closest to you." Ichiro told him looking at Shana and Konoe. Ichiro took a few steps away from them. Shana was about to say something when Ichiro interrupted her.

"Don't worry I've decided that I'm not leaving Misaki City…" Ichiro said. He looked up at the sky. _"At least I think so..."_

"_This war for existence won't be stopping anytime soon…" He heard Persephone say in his mind._

"You're right…" Ichiro muttered to himself.

"_Misaki City is a battleground and this Maelstrom of Warfare may never end…"_

* * *

And that's Chapter 24 everyone. This chapter ends the Crimson saga.

Thank you all for reading and supporting my story until its conclusion. Later!


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